Not Leonora again, Pres. Ali’s Leonora

Mar 20, 2026 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

Kaieteur News – I thought that Leonora’s noise nuisance pestilence was over. Dealt with, done and gone. To more manageable proportions. Where everybody, from barkeeper to neighbour to villager operated with civility and care for others. In any place that Guyana’s chronic noise menace raises its deafening voice, it would be a problem.

In Leonora, the birthplace of His Excellency President Ali, PhD, it’s beyond a problem. An abomination, it is. Could there be some in Leonora, the President’s birthplace, playpen, and proving ground, out to embarrass the leader? Those who work diligently to make him come across as impotent and ineffective?

The noise menace in Leonora has gone on too long, been allowed to take up unchallenged residence in the torturous hours of the unforgiving dark. Bar owners have their rights, but so, too, are citizens. For all who claim a bill of rights, I remind of a missing component that is mandatory for a complete picture. A bill of rights goes inseparably along with a bill of obligations. There is a bill of obligations that applies to every Guyanese, from president to pauper, every foreigner who come here to catch their hand. There is a right to play music, a right to earn a lawful dollar, and a right to be a provider in the entertainment and having a good time business.

By the same token, neighbours have the right to peace and quiet, some serenity around their castle, no matter how low to the ground, or if 10 stories high. At 10 stories up, those residents are above the fray, the fun and frolic (their aftermaths). Those closer to the riotous revelries are the ones saddled with punishing burdens. Something has to be done, and I mistakenly thought that Pres. Ali had intervened and settled that drunken bacchanalia in Leonora for all times, delivering such a standard as a leadership legacy for when his time is over. Unsurprisingly, I was wrong. Hope in him misplaced again. Even the little that was expected too much to ask of him. He has been that kind of President. Loud on some things. Lost in a haze on other things; too many to waste more trust.

Pursuant to a bill of obligations, the peddlers of noise menaces must be disciplined enough, and considerate enough, to muzzle the music. They know how; they know when; and they know when is reasonable, healthy, civilised. Part of the give-and-take of life. So, why don’t these purveyors of crippling noise crimes harness themselves and toe a certain acceptable line? One question prompts another. Who other than Pres. Ali has immunity in this country? I nominate the private sector. The PPP-protected private sector, to nail this. If its members can be allowed to invade sensitive budget preparations, make their reach felt, then the PPP-powered private sector’s small fry also are aware that murder can be gotten away, however executed. Literally is not a stretch. The PPP group, government, would be terrified should the private sector develop cramps. The simple thought is too paralysing, which is why the reality must never be allowed to come to pass.

Thus, the law-abiding in Leonora must suffer, pretend at no pain. May I remind from Pres. Ali to the entirety of the PPP Govt. that Leonorans are not Cubans. That is, to be used, then to be sent flying far from the presence of majestic men, who have no time for them, who have got bigger fish to fry. Think of real-life Cubans and their ugly, sickly fate at the hands of Ali’s PPP. To rub salt in the wounds of Leonora’s residents, their beloved Pres. Ali was right there over the weekend, and they should pay keen attention to where he went, and where he avoided like the plague. I have to hand it to them; his handlers have a handle on where he gets applause and where he gets only problems. Like noise crimes in the latter instances. Like those who need his intervention. Like those who need his protection, through channels, via special arrangements.

So, certain streets are avoided, as though in Caracas. ‘As I walked out in the Streets of Laredo…’ Pres Ali isn’t that adventurous; he isn’t going near those mean streets. Leonora is left to invest in ear plugs. Sound proofing for those who can afford it.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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