WIN lashes Pres. Ali for mocking poor Guyanese over cash grant

Dec 02, 2025 News

(Kaieteur News) – Leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, Azruddin Mohamed has lashed out against President Irfaan Ali over a cash grant joke he made at a recent oil and gas event. WIN described the move as a cruel and degrading mockery of Guyanese.

Wining and dining the elites in society, Mohamed said the president forgot where he came from and displayed utter disrespect for the population- of which more than 50 per cent is impoverished.

The leader said, “The address given by President Irfaan at the oil and gas awards dinner at the Marriott Hotel hurt me to my core when Irfaan said you really don’t know Guyanese people. Instead of development, I might have to say cash grant.”

WIN lashes Pres. Ali for mocking poor Guyanese over cash grant

WIN Leader, Azruddin Mohamed

The room, full of “fancy people” as expressed by the president erupted in laughter, as Ali joked about a cash grant announcement ‘lighting up the room.’

Mohamed however argued that Guyanese never asked for a cash grant for Christmas. In fact, he pointed out, “You (President Ali) are the one who lied to them about a cash grant and tricked them into voting for the PPP.” In a direct message to Guyanese, the opposition leader in waiting pointed out that several oil producing states globally provide direct cash transfers to their citizens, funded by oil revenue, including Alaska, Norway, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

To this end, he noted, “Sharing resource wealth with citizens is standard practice in resource-rich nations.” Mohamed however argued that the PPP does not want Guyanese to learn of this and instead create the illusion that “Guyanese are begging for handouts” he said.

“You walked into poor communities hugging the people while thinking less of them and then you go back to your fancy people and make fun of the poor people,” he argued. The leader reminded the president that “All Guyanese deserve to be treated with dignity. Respect is not for the rich alone. Power belongs to the people and no one can mock their suffering without consequences, especially the president who is there to serve the people.”

Over the past few weeks, WIN has been pressing the PPP to keep its campaign promise to deliver a cash grant to Guyanese before the Christmas season.

Just last week Ali sidestepped the question of a Christmas cash grant. Answering a reporter’s question on the cash grant, which citizens had hoped would assist with holiday expenses, President Ali stressed that the government’s focus is on long-term development and prosperity. He said government will shortly roll out several significant initiatives that will better the lives of citizens.“And whilst you may restrict your thoughts to just a cash bonus, this government has a very elaborate agenda for the upliftment of your life—for the improvement of your life, for building prosperity for you, for building prosperity for your community, for empowering you, for giving you the opportunity to live a life in which you have access to the best health care, best education, home ownership, reduced interest rates, access to low-interest business development loans and grants with no collateral, access to textbooks, expanded school feeding programmes, expanded infrastructure, community infrastructure, building out facilities to support women’s health, (and)… cancer treatment detection|,” the president confidently stated.

President Ali appeared unfazed in his conviction that Guyanese will benefit not only from development but also from additional investments that will drive their overall economic growth. “So, it’s beyond — beyond. Don’t narrow your thinking. Don’t narrow your approach to life to just one facet of what the government will deliver. There are many facets of what your government will deliver to you…” the president insisted.

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Azruddin Mohamed, cash grant, disrespect, impoverished, President Irfaan Ali, We Invest in Nationhood

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