It was US President Franklin D. Roosevelt who said that the presidency is “preeminently a place of moral leadership.” It is all that I have to give to Guyana’s Pres. Irfaan Ali. To that I add a few more words of humble advice. Whatever his advisers are counseling him, it’s not helping him; whatever is in his head, it has failed. I exhort the president: begin again, try another way. It doesn’t have to be mine, but any other way than what he has held close, but which has failed abjectly. Still, I lay my two cents at the feet of the presidency. The choice is Excellency Ali’s.
First call to Excellency Ali: be a leader, sir, lead this nation. This nation needs more than an incident manager. Guyanese are in dire need of a leader, a real commander-in-chief. It is not Vice President Jagdeo, even leaving aside questions about his fitness for any office in this country. Second, Mr. President: treating the people of this country, as though they are flunkeys is insulting. Guyanese adults are no leader’s children, should not be treated as such; at least, not the ones who still think. They don’t work for the government or the president, both of which good offices are subservient to citizens. In the sharpest profile, President Ali, the PM, the VP, and the entire cabinet are servants of the people. Highly overpaid, for sure; but servants that must prove their mettle day in and day out. Presidential and ministerial flights of grandiosity only make matters worse.
Third, this issue of police reform is a maker or breaker in a real country. Reflect on what happened in Trinidad and Tobago, and how much that had to do with crime, as much as who stayed home, who was not electable. For their part, Guyanese need security. Guyanese need palpable police reform, not more presidential platitudes that just don’t get the job done. Frankly, President Ali has compiled an impressive record with saying things that are inspiring (“unity, transparency, and accountability”) then changing horses in midstream. When a president works at a new career while in office, he besmirches himself by failing to deliver on his sworn commitments. They all are. For those with inquiring minds, the president’s new career is that of a traveling oil salesman. He may forget or ignore, but ‘guava season’ Guyanese don’t. I offer the president a piece of American, (Wall Street) advice, his police reform must not be what is merely a ‘dead cat bounce.’ That is, police reform starts out by showing some flickers of promise and life, and then it is back to its regular comatose, decaying state. I am thinking of the much-marketed and highly anticipated constitutional reform, and Guyanese live with what they get. A snow job aka a snake oil blowup.
Fourth, relative to that FDR’s truism about the presidency being a “preeminently a place of moral leadership”, my free counsel to President Ali is to revisit his government’s links to family and friends (a tough nut), and favorites and failures (a similarly unrewarding undertaking). Though blood is thicker than oil money, and loyal friends are forever, what is known about most of them, if published, would make both the commissioner of police and chief justice (ag) think of early retirement. The record of most of them and their relationships to government business would make a skunk hold its nose and rush to find a new environment. A much healthier one, ethically.
Fifth, after over four and a half years on the bridge of the ship of state, Pres. Ali must take command. The world knows that President Ali plays second fiddle to Vice President Jagdeo. Whether a second or third fiddle role, the world is embarrassed by the knowledge of his self-subjugation to another second rater, Dr. Jagdeo. Foreigners and locals stare at the ground, seemingly to unravel its mysteries. The truth is much harsher: it is to save the president any further humiliation, and discomfort. President Ali must take command, and manifest that he has what it takes to hold the highest constitutional office in Guyana. As for the vice president who is bigger than a president, create a new post for him. Post him as Roving Ambassador to North Korea and Pakistan, and give him a lifetime appointment. He will be in his element wherever the nebulous and inexplicable are routine.
Finally, President Ali antics and style have rubbed many people raw, make him look thin where he should be muscular. Standards. Leadership. Frankness. A fondness for fairness and facts. He entered office with a full head of hair and a full stomach. He must demonstrate that he still operates with a head full of sense. Whatever the state of his stomach, that one is on me.
