Dear Editor,
Who is this bloke GHK Lall? Why on the first day of the year he would be so harsh on Irfaan Ali? Poor Irfaan can’t catch a breath.

If it is not Prime News questioning his hard-earned qualifications, it is the magistrates having him lumbering up court steps to answer some 19 criminal charges. You would have thought that one cardiac stress test for the poor chap, up those stairs would have taken care of that. When will he see the proverbial silver lining?

The GHK Lall drama started like this, at least that is what I was told. Unexpectedly, in the middle of a busy Robb Street, GHK Lall announced his presence by making this lung bursting announcement, “Ali does not have what it takes.”  Can GHK Lall be for real? Has he seen Irfaan recently? Mate, listen to me and listen to me carefully. Irfaan’s clothes is under more pressure than GECOM. What more do you expect of the poor chap? And that was not all, this GHK Lall fella was clearly on a mission. Look at the site he chose to announce this abhorrent statement.

Not on the lawns of State House; not on Parade Ground or even at Freedom House. This guy chose to make the now infamous comments standing at the Stabroek “want a piece of that 75%” Newspaper letter box. Just permit me to shine some light on the meaning of this “want a piece of that 75%.” Anand, the Stabroek guy, was recently arm- in-arm with Glenn, where they were brainstorming nefarious means of making more millions. Glenn reassuringly looked at Anand and said, “We are in this together.” With that encouragement, Anand demanded a 25% increase in the price of his tabloid newspaper.

To hoodwink the masses, he claimed that he is now effectively a vagrant, after only receiving 35% of the total State ‘ads’ for 2019. Mind you, he received the highest percentage of State ‘ads’ for all printed media. But what astute and deceptive Anand is keeping more secretive than Donald Trump’s tax return, is how many millions Stabroek News earned from private ‘ads’ and the US100/year/person Online subscription. We all know that he must be making massive profits, but like Ali Baba and the 40 thieves, he wants more. He wants a massive slice of the poor Public Servants 75%. Now you get it?
Back to the political punching bag and Canada excluded, Irfaan. Well, folks have been complaining that for over a year, Jagdeo hid Irfaan away like a secret boyfriend. Bharrat, with no regards for Irfaan’s feelings, flatly said that Irfaan is his puppet, and he can do with him whatever he wishes. Clearly, things can’t get more emasculating and dehumanising for Bharrat’s echokinesis and echolalic parrot. So the very people, clearly frustrated, are saying that Irfaan is more silent than a church mouse. Some are taking their complaining to biblical proportions, claiming that they can’t see the wind, but at least they can hear it.

Neither is possible with Bharrat’s malleable puppet. Seriously speaking, for those complaining of wind and sound, I am not sure how they would deal with that wind if it is to come from Irfaan. Anyway, let’s be objective folks. What you are basing your complaint on is true for the corresponding period last year, but definitely not today. Let’s look at the hard facts. In January 2018, Irfaan was completely mute. He was saying absolutely nothing. He was just stood like a rabbit in the headlight. This was until the world-renowned speech therapist, Bharrat Jagdeo, intervened. Now after a year of complete silence, Irfaan has made great progress, where he can now say a complete sentence.“I am no Jagdeo’s puppet.”
It is very disconcerting when a Presidential candidate feels the need to stress that he is his own man; that he is not anyone’s puppet.

To me, that highlights an inherent weakness and personality flaw that cannot be remedied in two months.  Why else would the majority of Guyana share that view? There must be a reason or multiple reasons. Unfortunately, saying that he is not Jagdeo’s puppet will not take those legitimate concerns away. The removal of that stain requires more actions than words. That will never happen, since Jagdeo is not known to be the type to use vanishing cream. Therefore, unfortunately, that defacing mark will forever be there.
Finally, I’ve done some research on Irfaan’s medical condition: Selective mutism. The prognosis is apparently very good, once a multidisciplinary team approach is adapted. Clearly that is part of the management plan, since Jagdeo, in a recent interview, stated that he is aiming for Irfaan to master the two-sentence stage by March 3. When questioned what would those two sentences be, Jagdeo said, “Mr. Granger, President elect, congratulation on your resounding election win. I look forward to working with you as part of the opposition.”

That was the first truth Jagdeo said in 28yrs. Happy New Year to all the readers. Limit the ethanol consumption. It is not going anywhere, you can’t finish it, but most importantly, you have to work tomorrow.

Regards,
Dr. Mark Devonish