The Alliance For Change (AFC) has intensified calls for a sweeping independent investigation into President Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s sprawling Long Creek ranch, saying the Head of State must fully account for how the property was acquired, financed and developed, while urging every public agency connected to the project to open its records to public scrutiny.
The demand follows explosive revelations by We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) and Leader of the Opposition Azruddin Mohamed, whose widely circulated video exposed the vast scale of President Irfaan Ali’s Long Creek ranch and ignited nationwide questions over how such a multi-billion-dollar enterprise was acquired and developed by a career public official. The disclosure has fueled calls for transparency, scrutiny of the President’s financial disclosures and a full accounting of whether public office was leveraged for private gain.
After initially declining to directly address questions about the property, President Ali recently acknowledged that the ranch belongs to him, effectively ending speculation over its ownership. His admission, however, shifted the controversy to a broader question that continues to dominate public discourse: how was the multi-billion-dollar enterprise financed?
The ranch, located along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway at Long Creek, has been described as a large-scale agricultural operation featuring poultry houses, cattle, sheep and goat farms, aquaculture ponds, hydroponic greenhouses, orchards, staff accommodation, recreational facilities and extensive supporting infrastructure. Estimates circulated in the viral video placed the investment at more than $5 billion, although no independent valuation has been released and the government has not disclosed the cost of the development.
In a statement on Tuesday, the AFC said the President’s confirmation of ownership makes full public disclosure unavoidable.
“The President must make full disclosure on the acquisition of these lands, the financing for development, maintenance and operations of this massive farm,” the party said.
It also called for every public institution and financial entity involved in the project to publicly explain its role.
“Further, the AFC calls on all agencies that have played a part in this transaction to make public their role. Among these would be; the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, the Guyana Power and Light and any financial institution.”
The party said the issue goes beyond ownership, arguing that as Guyana’s President and a Politically Exposed Person (PEP), Ali bears a heightened obligation under the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework to demonstrate that no public office or influence was used to acquire land, secure financing or obtain other resources.
“The AFC recalls that the acquisition of these lands by Ali while he was serving as the Minister of Housing was questioned by the APNU+AFC coalition government. In keeping with AML/CFT laws Ali must prove that as a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) he did not use his influence in any way to support financing for his farm or obtaining resources for it.”
The AFC also drew attention to what it described as unequal access to agricultural land, noting that many Guyanese continue to wait years for small farming allocations while the President accumulated a large estate.
“The Alliance For Change notes that many Guyanese have been waiting for years for a few acres to do farming. In many instances persons lucky enough to have their application finally approved have seen their request cut from ten to five acres.”
The opposition party broadened its criticism to what it alleged is a wider pattern of enrichment by members of the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
“The AFC calls on right thinking Guyanese not to be distracted from the growing mountain of PPP corruption. The evidence of massive wealth that children and family members of PPP ministers have acquired in a few years, corruption in the award of contracts, over-priced and poorly executed public infrastructure projects all point to a cabal that is fattening itself at the expense of the ordinary people.”
It further argued that Guyana’s oil wealth and national resources belong to every citizen rather than a privileged political class.
“The AFC reminds Guyanese that the money in our national coffers and the entire 83,000 square miles and resources offshore belong to all of us and our children and children after them. It does not belong only to the PPP and their families.”
The AFC is the latest to join a growing coalition of civil society organisations demanding an independent probe into the President’s Long Creek ranch, as public pressure intensifies for full disclosure of how the sprawling estate was acquired and financed. Critics contend that the controversy has escalated into one of the most serious questions of public accountability facing the Ali administration, insisting that only a credible, independent investigation can determine whether the highest standards of transparency and integrity were upheld in the conduct of the nation’s highest office.
Despite acknowledging ownership of the property, President Ali has yet to publicly disclose how the ranch was financed, whether loans were obtained, the value of the investment, or what role, if any, state agencies played in its development. As questions continue to mount, opposition parties and civil society groups are insisting that only a transparent, independent investigation can determine whether the acquisition and expansion of the President’s ranch complied with the law and the ethical standards expected of the country’s highest public office.
