Opposition, ministry clash over cattle shipment amid border corruption allegations

Jul 13, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – The political opposition and the government continue to butt heads over allegations of systemic border corruption, multimillion-dollar gold smuggling, and illicit livestock trade in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). Leader of the Opposition, Azruddin Mohamed, launched an attack on the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Administration on Sunday, accusing top officials of shielding a “tyrant” regional administrator to control a highly lucrative, illicit meat supply chain. In a counter-response, the Ministry of Agriculture heavily defended its operations, releasing a statement that dismissed the allegations as a misunderstanding of a legitimate, state-vetted national herd expansion programme.

The controversy ignited on Saturday when Mohamed released a video claiming that roughly 300 cows had crossed from Boa Vista, Brazil, through Lethem en route to Linden under highly suspicious circumstances. In a counter-response issued late Saturday night, the ministry heavily defended its operations, dismissing the allegations as a misunderstanding of a legitimate, state-vetted national herd expansion programme. However, the political friction only intensified on Sunday when Mohamed released a second video directly targeting the administrative leadership of Region Nine.

The clash centered on the movement of a fleet of heavy transports traversing the Lethem-to-Mabura road. In his Saturday video posted on his Team Mohamed’s page, Mohamed asserted that his team had tracked a convoy of trucks, each laden with approximately 30 Brazilian cows, heavily degrading the trail and leaving local bus drivers and commuters stranded. Mohamed further alleged that the cattle bypassed all border security, receiving “absolutely no clearance” from public health bodies or the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

He charged that the government intended to sneak the cattle onto a 150-acre mega-farm and abattoir in Region 5 to be slaughtered, repackaged as local meat, and sold at premium market prices to massive buyers, including Chinese supermarkets, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), and the Guyana Police Force (GPF). Mohamed stated that the government only changed the destination after realising they were being actively monitored, raising severe biosecurity alarms that bringing unscreened animals from Brazil risks introducing foot-and-mouth disease that could devastate local pastures.? —> Region 5 Abattoir —>

The Government’s Late-Night Rebuttal

Hours after Mohamed’s initial social media broadcast, the agriculture ministry published a detailed official statement on its Facebook page, limiting who could comment on the post, providing an entirely different narrative. According to the ministry, the 300 cattle are not contraband, but rather the first official shipment of a planned 1,000 pregnant heifers under the legally sanctioned National Herd Expansion Programme, designed to bolster Guyana’s beef and dairy sectors.

To back its claims, the ministry provided rigorous procedural details outlining the metric of the procurement. The official government data states that the livestock originated from the supplier Coopera in Brazil, and the tendering process was formally evaluated via the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB). A bidding volume of four separate bids was received, comprising one local and three international offers, resulting in a final contract price of G$245,000 per pregnant heifer. Furthermore, the government emphasised the high vetting status of the animals, noting that they had successfully completed all veterinary health inspections, testing, and quarantine protocols prior to export, with their official final destination documented as the Breeding and Research Centre at Ebini, Berbice River.

“A Demi-President in the Region”

Mohamed further escalated the conflict on Sunday by releasing a second video detailing what he deemed to be “rampant, wider administrative lawlessness” under the watch of Region Nine’s Regional Executive Officer (REO), Carl Singh.

According to Mohamed, when the PPP administration assumed office and removed nine out of the country’s ten REOs, Singh was uniquely spared. Mohamed alleged this retention was deliberate, declaring him “the most corrupt REO of all” who is allowed to maintain his position to carry out massive corruption for his political masters, functioning as a “demi-president” and a “tyrant” feared by locals.

The opposition’s Sunday dossier against REO Singh highlighted several major grievances. At the forefront are serious gold smuggling accusations, with claims that hundreds of millions of US dollars’ worth of gold is being illegally trafficked across Guyana’s border with Brazil and through networks connected to Venezuela, starving the state of vital taxes and foreign exchange. Alongside this, the opposition alleges a systematic purging of public servants, asserting that public health officials, GRA staff, and regular public servants who attempt to enforce regulations or intercept smuggled goods are systematically transferred or dismissed. Further complicating Sunday’s video disclosures was a notable nuance regarding weapon licensing. Mohamed highlighted that despite Singh having a documented history of shooting a 25-year-old woman in the abdomen, he is permitted to maintain his firearm license, while the government actively targets the personal firearms of opposition figures. Finally, the opposition raised alarms over land monopolisation, claiming that state lands are being aggressively distributed by Singh and President Irfaan Ali to Brazilian nationals and politically connected elites for personal drawbacks, warning that by 2030, there will not be much land left available for ordinary citizens.

Tying the weekend’s events together, the opposition leader maintains that ordinary Guyanese cattle rearers are being systemically pushed out of the market. Mohamed argued that while politically aligned actors are permitted to transport thousands of animals and containers of frozen chicken, beef, and lamb through the region without a second glance, local farmers face debilitating animal health restrictions. Small-scale producers are continuously denied the necessary licenses to transport meat to the lucrative Georgetown market, and are frequently blocked from crossing the Kurupukari crossing with their products.

“The Rupununi used to be the cattle region of Guyana,” Mohamed lamented, noting that local farmers are left “punishing” without any state support while the ruling elite consolidates control over the country’s resource and food supply chains.

 

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• border corruption, cattle shipment, ministry, opposition

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