GTUC demands COI into president’s 150-acre ranch

Jul 09, 2026 News

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…as AG defends Post-Presidential Benefits Bill

(Kaieteur News) – The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) is calling for an independent probe into President Irfaan Ali’s private assets.

In a press statement issued on July 8, the trades union demanded the immediate establishment of an independent Commission of Inquiry (COI) to scrutinise the acquisition and development of President Ali’s 150-acre ranch. Simultaneously, the union body called for the immediate withdrawal of the controversial Former Presidents’ Benefits and Other Facilities Bill 2026, labeling it an “unjust burden” on taxpayers.

“Public Office is a Public Trust”

The GTUC’s call for a COI centers on whether state resources, regulatory concessions, or the influence of the presidency facilitated the expansion of President Ali’s 150 acres private agricultural venture. The union insisted that the inquiry must not be directed by the Executive or staffed by political appointees.

“This inquiry must be empowered to summon witnesses, examine public records, receive expert testimony, and hear evidence from independent stakeholders,” the GTUC stated. “Rhetoric must not shroud the necessity for accountability in public office.”

The union explicitly dismissed official government defenses that characterise the head of state as simply a passionate, lifelong farmer. The GTUC argued that the sheer scale of the 150-acre commercial interest raises legitimate questions regarding conflicts of interest, questioning whether managing such private ventures is compatible with a presidency already heavily funded by taxpayers. Turning its sights to the 2026 Former Presidents’ Benefits Bill, the GTUC described the legislation as “particularly offensive” given the high cost of living currently squeezing working-class families.

“Workers- past, present and future- should not be expected to underwrite open-ended privileges for political officeholders,” the union’s declaration read. “Public service is a duty to the nation, not a guarantee of lifelong financial entitlement at taxpayers’ expense.”

AG Slams “Malice and Spite,” Defends Equal Treatment

Meanwhile, on Tuesday evening, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, SC Anil Nandlall pushed back on his “Issues in the News” programme, blasting what he said is a “deliberate campaign to mislead, distort, and scandalise” the proposed legislation.

Responding to mounting public criticisms, Nandlall clarified that the 2026 Bill is not a new framework designed to create bespoke privileges for President Ali. Instead, he explained, it is an exact replication of the original 2009 Act, which was introduced to codify and settle benefits that former presidents had historically received on an ad-hoc basis.

Nandlall detailed a legislative history, noting that the APNU-AFC administration repealed the 2009 Act and replaced it with a restrictive version in 2015. However, the AG argued that the 2015 law was legally “impotent” because it could not retroactively strip away the vested proprietary rights of living former PPP presidents Bharrat Jagdeo, Donald Ramotar, and Samuel Hinds.

Ironically, Nandlall revealed, the strict 2015 limits legally applied only to APNU-AFC’s own former President, David Granger, when he demitted office in 2020. Yet, the AG disclosed that the current PPP/C administration chose not to enforce those restrictions on Granger.

“From 2020 to now, the People’s Progressive Civic administration never applied that 2015 law to President Granger. It applied the 2009 law to President Granger,” Nandlall said. “And I don’t wish to state the reasons why… I will leave it like that.”

The attorney general accused opposition elements and critics of “crocodile-type criticism,” pointing out historical inconsistencies. He noted that in 2017, the APNU-AFC administration passed the Prime Minister Hamilton Green Pension Bill, granting a broad package of benefits exclusively to a single individual 30 years after he left office.

“They didn’t pass a prime minister bill that Moses Nagamootoo, for example, could have benefited from, or Mark Phillips could have benefited from,” Nandlall charged. “That is nepotism and cronyism.”

According to the government, the 2026 Bill simply undoes the “deplorable state of affairs” created by the 2015 repeal, which Nandlall claimed was driven entirely by “ill will, malice, and spite” to target former President Jagdeo.

“The 2026 bill is intended to restore the dignity to the office of a former president and to bring certainty and equity,” Nandlall concluded. “Whether it’s former President Granger, whether it’s Ramotar, whether it’s Hinds, whether it’s Jagdeo, whether it’s Irfaan Ali, and whoever may come in the future… the bill is intended to treat all of them equally.”

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• GTUC, President Irfaan Ali, Presidents’ Benefits, private assets, ranch

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