…Min. Ally dismisses Irfaan Ali as allegedly corrupt, unqualified

WHENEVER the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) decides to call elections, it will not be an issue for the APNU/AFC government, with People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) General Secretary, Amna Ally, establishing that the party is in “full election mode”,
Speaking at the PNC/R’s weekly press conference on Friday, Ally, who is also the party’s Chief Elections Scrutineer, said the party is currently in the process of working on its manifesto. “The PNC/R and our partners that make up the APNU+AFC coalition are in full elections mode.

We are ready. We are in preparation mode of our manifesto. We have started the work, it is not completed but I can assure you that it will be ready in time for elections,” Ally said.

“Our track record for the four years is excellent, and that alone would take the coalition back to government. What we didn’t enjoy in 23 years we are enjoying it in four years. We have better roads, improved education, and improved healthcare, so we know that is going to take it back, and to crown it all we have the best candidate. We have a man with integrity, with vision for this country, who is honest. Comparing our presidential candidate with the PPP candidate, our presidential candidate doesn’t have any reason to fake any qualifications, has never been dishonest. And so we have a track record and certainly that is going to take us back to government.”

Whenever elections are next held, the APNU+AFC will be heading into elections with incumbent President David Granger as the party’s presidential candidate. The Opposition, People’s Progressive Party (PPP), has identified former Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali, as their presidential candidate, notwithstanding the fact that Ali is currently before the courts with 19 criminal charges against him, and has questionable and unverified academic qualifications.

Ali is facing some 19 charges for allegedly conspiring to defraud the state of some $174M in ‘Pradoville’ land sales, after selling the lands at extremely undervalued prices. The “Pradoville” arrangement was made during PPP’s term of office, 2010-2015.

On his academic qualifications, Ali is alleged to have pursued a Master’s degree at an India university in 2002, without a first degree, using fraudulent documents to get into the masters programme. Minister Ally says the coalition is confident that when faced with a choice between President Granger and Ali as president, the choice is made easy for citizens.

“No matter the date of election, the PNC/R is ready and confident, for the choice is clear, this election will be a referendum on leadership. David Granger is a man of integrity, honesty, a statesman and a leader who has earned the nations trust versus the PPP’s candidate of questionable character facing multiple criminal charges. Irfaan Ali, a man with 19 criminal charges and questionable academic qualifications wants Guyanese to trust him and his dishonest PPP,” Ally boasted.

In addition to a credible presidential candidate, Ally noted that sizing up the APNU+AFC track record against that of the PPP again puts the governing party in the lead.
“The PPP have had their time and their track record prove that they are dishonest, unscrupulous and too incompetent to govern our country again,” Ally reminded. “Since we came to power in 2015, we have made significant progress in moving Guyana forward.

During their 23 years, the PPP brought our country to the point of collapse. They destroyed the economy by aligning themselves with narco-traffickers that destroyed job opportunities for people, especially our youth. They let our infrastructure crumble through dishonest deals. They neglected our education system, leaving our young people with no future or hope of securing real jobs.”

Ally conceded that four years was just a limited time span, and while much has been done there is much more still to be completed. “In just four years much progress has been made, but we know that real change takes time. We have made a good start but there is more work to be done. With the honest leadership of President David Granger, we will deliver more jobs, higher wages, safer communities and free education from nursery to university,” Ally said.

“We must not forget that the people of Guyana voted the PPP out of office just four years ago, in 2015, because the PPP failed to address the country’s most pressing problem, the public security crisis. The PPP has never accepted its responsibility for the high rate of armed robberies, the murderous maritime piracy, the rampant gun-running and contraband smuggling, and other violent crimes that raged along the coastland during its 23 years in office.”