Jagdeo’s PPP-PNC project; Mohamed, realities -Pt II

 Jagdeo’s PPP-PNC project; Mohamed, realities -Pt II

OPINION BY : GHK LALL October 2026

Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has laid out his blueprint to head off WIN Mohamed at the pass.  A PPP-PNC defensive project, intended to rehabilitate and conserve.  Mr. Mohamed is the menace.  The PNC has already felt the sweep of his presence.  Dr. Jagdeo feels the hairs on the back of his neck rising.  Danger from Mohamed.  To the PPP.  Who can shore-up the situation?  The PNC beckons.  Just like the beginning, 75 years ago.

Indeed, Mr. Mohamed is not to be taken lightly.  Look what he did last year September.  Look what he has done since.  With extradition hanging on his head, and the PPP latching on to his leg.  If a one-armed and one-foot Opp Leader can cause so much agitation to Jagdeo and the PPP, then what about if he’s given room and time to spread his wings and takeout the PPP.  The PNC paid for its nonchalance, taking its base for granted.  Jagdeo’s PPP isn’t taking any chances.  Like I have said many times, if Bharat Jagdeo has to do a deal with the devil to retain his hold on power, it is done.  But is Mr. Azruddin Mohamed really the threat that he has been made out to be?

In Part I, he was described as a one-wheel vehicle.  To compound his predicament, the PPP has used State enforcement, State media, and other State assets to bore holes in his gas tank.  Boat license gone (freedom of movement impaired).  Phone seized.  Facebook fouled.  Mohamed can’t walk, can’t talk, and can’t be seen and heard.  He is as good as extradited.  Think that over.  And yet, and yet, it is not enough for Jagdeo, who seeks a guarantee, through his overnight bonding with the PNC.  I wonder what would have been the reaction of Burnham or Hoyte to that Machiavellian maneuver.

Is Mr. Mohamed really this political force of nature that’s ascribed to him?  Certainly, he has some notches on his shield.  Has fought a hard, dogged, aggressive, then rearguard, fight.  But where are his troops, his proselytizers, his boots on the ground, beside himself?  Indeed, he is a one-man phenomenon, and that should be recognized.  However, I push my fellow Guyanese to think more than they usually do.

Suppose Mr. Mohamed beats his extradition rap.  Suppose again that he succeeds in a bigger way in 2031.  That is, supposing he lasts that long and is still around.  It’s a basket of supposing, but put before Guyanese.  How does he function as Guyana’s Chief Minister?  How much operating room does he have?  How much time does he have on his hands?  To answer those three questions, I reach into eternity and return with Dr. Cheddi Jagan.  In the early 1990s, he made a statement that had durability stamped on it. 

The PPP has political power, but it lacks bureaucratic power.  The power to make policies and pass orders.  But not the power to make matters move, and to get things done.

In its 34 (minus 4-5) years in charge, the PPP under Jagdeo’s all-powerful, all-knowing, hand has reversed Cheddi Jagan’s handicap.  One example alone should suffice: the Guyana Police Force.  From a hostile party to an eating-out-of-the-hand entity.  Try another: the public service.  From Burnham public service to Jagdeo public service.  The command structure is there.  The color coding is prominent.  And the commissars are present in their numbers and swaggers.

Pray tell, somebody.  How does Mr. Mohamed function in that minefield?  How does he get anything done, assuming he has the best of people-oriented policies (Pt III in motion)?  Sure, he will be able to reward his followers, but how does he deliver on programs and projects, when his existence is one of being surrounded by sharks and angry caimans? 

Those who’re furious because their rich food has being yanked.  Forget uneasy the head that wears the crown.  His would be a poisoned chalice, the wells that the PPP polluted by throwing dead bodies in them.

I make something clear.  This isn’t a case for the Jagdeo PPP-PNC Master Plan.  It’s not a cold shower for Mohamed.  It is an outline of Guyanese realities and their rawness