Parfaite Harmonie, Guyana — Billionaire businessman Azruddin Mohamed has finally cracked open the doors on what appears to be his highly anticipated election manifesto, delivering a detailed speech Wednesday night that combined sweeping social promises with hardline pledges to uprooting corruption.
Addressing an enthusiastic crowd in Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, Wednesday night, Mohamed, who is leading the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party into the September 1 general and regional elections, struck a defiant tone, claiming that Guyana has suffered under five years of what he described as “lies, victimisation and dirty deals.”
The business magnate, who last year was sanctioned by the United States over alleged tax fraud involving over US$50 million in undeclared gold exports, told supporters that under a WIN government, not a single cent of public funds would be lost to corruption.
“We will END corruption!” he shouted to roars from the audience. “Not one cent of your money will go missing under a WIN government.” He claimed that as much as 30 percent of Guyana’s GY$1.4 trillion national budget is swallowed up by corruption, and pledged to redirect those funds toward what he called “real investments in real people.”
Among the measures he promised was a dramatic boost in public spending to support vulnerable groups and working-class citizens. Mohamed said that if elected, he would raise the Old Age Pension from GY$41,000 to GY$100,000, and increase the disability allowance from GY$22,000 to GY$50,000.
Public servants would also receive a 50 percent increase in their salaries, and he pledged to raise teachers’ salaries. He further committed to slashing both Value Added Tax and Income Tax, arguing that with the cost of food increasing by as much as 75 percent in recent years. He emphasized that Guyanese need more money in their pockets.
Mohamed’s pitch wasn’t only about money. In a dramatic appeal for justice, he vowed to invite the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate the death of 11-year-old Adrianna Younge, whose body was found in a hotel pool at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, earlier this year. Mohamed repeatedly referred to her death as a murder and insisted that the parents, country and the region deserve more than answers, but also justice.
His emotional references to Younge struck a chord with the crowd and underscored a campaign strategy focused on both national outrage and regional identity.
Continuing his list of plans, Mohamed promised a range of infrastructure and energy projects, including the construction of a railway from Vreed-en-Hoop to Parika, the development of wind and solar power plants to lower energy costs, and a 40 percent reduction in the price of house lots.
He said that public servants earning minimum wage would also qualify for home-start grants ranging from GY$500,000 to GY$700,000 to help them build on the land. All of these measures, he insisted, would be funded by eliminating the graft he claims is rampant under the current administration.
As a show of personal sacrifice and confidence, the WIN leader declared that he would not accept a presidential salary if elected, instead pledging to donate it to charity. “I know how to take a dollar and turn it into a hundred,” he said, repeating a line that has become a personal brand of sorts. “I don’t need the government’s money, I want to serve.”
