President Ali declares another war

Sep 14, 2025 Editorial

Kaieteur News – President Irfaan Ali is readying for another battle. Firstly, he declared war on domestic violence. Secondly, he declared war on corruption. More recently, he declared war on poverty. For what is a ‘crusade’ if not of a statement of intent, of war declared? Those are wars that would please every Guyanese heart, because domestic violence, corruption, and poverty are draining the spirit out of this nation and its peoples. The president is getting better and better at making inspiring promises. His challenge is to deliver in a manner that makes sense, that persuades Guyanese across the spectrum that he is genuine, and that he means business. In others words, he is not talking for the sake of talking.

Poverty is a serious matter in Guyana, as two out of every five Guyanese can confirm. It could be as high as one in two, but no one can say with certainty, since there is such a dearth of official statistics. There is enough evidence from the environment that supports assertions that Guyanese experience the greatest difficulty in buying basic food items. When so many citizens struggle to buy food to survive in one of the richest countries in the world per capita, then that has to be an embarrassment for the leader and government in control of the reins. When a country ranks so high in daily oil production per capita, and its citizens still cannot afford to buy food, then their government has failed them.

Like many Guyanese, we think that the government’s misplaced priorities left citizens at the bottom of the economic ladder in worse shape than before. The demand for food supplies to feed workers the offshore oil infrastructure has led to higher prices, and on and off scarcity of greens and vegetables only added to prices pressures, and the pain of ordinary Guyanese. The president is aware of this, and so are many members of his government. Instead of focusing exclusively on how to provide relief to hard hit Guyanese, the record is of a government that thought it was a better idea to attack those who were steering its attention to the condition of the poor in Guyana. In an age when the world speaks profusely about Guyana’s oil prosperity, there shouldn’t be conversations about Guyanese living at or below the poverty line. There would be a simple reason for that: poverty doesn’t exist, or if it did, it was at an extremely negligible level.

We don’t know why President Ali has changed his tune, and is now up in arms against local poverty. The low voter turnout at the last elections could be one reason, but even if it isn’t, poverty conditions that drive fear in Guyanese still have to be dealt with. The fact that the president is going after poverty with a vengeance can only be viewed as a positive development. Once he is committed to eradicating poverty, or easing its blight, then there is hope that things will be better for the poorer citizens of this now globally recognized oil producing nation. The president spoke of cost-of-living relief measures that could be soon introduced. We wait with guarded anticipation to determine what form those would take, how widespread they will be, and how sustained such measures. From his own energy levels, food security is one of the president’s priorities, and he has included that as part of his poverty amelioration efforts. Whatever the form in which relief from poverty comes, it will be accepted, so long as it is provides inspiration that real help is involved, and that it would be lasting.

War on poverty, or relief from the gnawing bite of poverty, cannot be another of those verbose speeches from President Ali. If there is one commitment, one programme, on which he will be held accountable, it is any that involves dealing in a comprehensive and credible manner with poverty. His government has an opportunity, a rare and extended second chance, to deliver on poverty. The worst thing that the president could do is to walk back his words, and leave impoverished Guyanese to fend for themselves. His leadership record would be blemished, and his government made to pay a price.

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corruption, Domestic violence, Editorial, poverty, President Irfaan Ali

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