The Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) has strongly criticised Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo’s recent announcement that several government ministers will not return after the September 2025 elections, calling it a calculated “cover-up in real time” rather than an act of good governance.
In a statement issued Saturday, the Movement argued that Jagdeo’s move is less about “cleaning house” and more about deflecting growing domestic and international pressure over the People’s Progressive Party (PPP)’s mounting record of corruption allegations.
The announcement, they point out, comes just weeks before reports surfaced that U.S. sanctions may be imposed on top Guyanese government officials. FGM believes the timing is no coincidence.
“Why would he suddenly ditch the same ministers he’s been defending for years?” the group asked. “If they were doing a good job, why fire them? And if they were corrupt, why were they ever there in the first place?”
According to FGM, Jagdeo is not reforming a broken system but rather attempting to salvage his own political image amid rising scrutiny. The ministers being sidelined, the Movement said, were not rogue actors — they were loyal enforcers of Jagdeo’s political will.
“These ministers weren’t acting on their own. They were Jagdeo’s loyal foot soldiers, accused of rape, caught in shady land deals, busted in procurement rackets, and some even linked to international sanctions,” the release charged.
The Movement also slammed Jagdeo’s recent description of controversial businessman Azruddin Mohamed as “the most corrupt man in Guyana,” calling it hypocrisy.
“That’s like a drug lord calling his mule a criminal,” the group said. “Mohamed didn’t act behind Jagdeo’s back — he was in his back pocket.”
FGM cited the 2022 VICE News undercover investigation in which one of Jagdeo’s close associates was recorded offering government contracts in exchange for bribes — and boasting that the Vice President was “on board.” Notably, Jagdeo never sued the outlet, nor did he distance himself from the remarks. “Bribes, kickbacks, and silence-for-sale — that’s how this government operates,” the Movement claimed.
The statement further points to Transparency International’s corruption rankings, repeated investor warnings from the U.S. State Department, and World Bank reports highlighting political favouritism and opaque deals, all of which, they argue, point to Jagdeo’s central role in a deeply entrenched system of patronage.
Bharrat Jagdeo serves as General Secretary of the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP), while President Irfaan Ali, who is Head of State and Head of Government, the the party’s Chairman. Yet Jagdeo, despite being second and third in the hierarchy, is widely seen as the de facto power center.
It is often Jagdeo, not Ali, who delivers key policy announcements, speaks for the party, and signals strategic decisions such as this ministerial reshuffle. This apparent imbalance has only deepened suspicions that Jagdeo continues to exert executive authority from behind the scenes.
FGM apparently used this backdrop to frame their broader warning: that the ministerial changes are not the beginning of reform, but an attempt to dodge accountability.
“Jagdeo can’t pretend to be the guy cleaning up corruption when he’s the one who built the system,” the statement reads. “If corruption is a snake, these ministers were just the body — Jagdeo is the head.”
The Forward Guyana Movement concluded by calling for a complete break from what it describes as a corrupt political establishment.“Crooks don’t clean houses,” the statement said. “They just move the loot around. Guyana deserves better.”
