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Georgetown, Guyana — Will this latest episode of public shaming reap a different outcome? In a pointed criticism following President Irfaan Ali’s 5 a.m. meeting with ministers, contractors, and ministry officials, Alliance for Change leader Nigel Hughes has condemned the government’s handling of prolonged project delays, calling the public naming and shaming of officials a sign of failed leadership. Hughes took to Facebook to issue a sharp rebuke, writing, “The ultimate admission of failure is when you parade all your ministers, permanent secretaries, and their selected contractors at daybreak before the nation, confirm and demonstrate their incompetence and inadequacies, then pretend that it’s not your failure but somebody else’s. At this point, there is really only one option. Start packing.”
Hughes’ rebuke comes after President Ali’s meeting yesterday morning, where the president scrutinized the performance of ministries and contractors overseeing delayed projects across Guyana. The meeting served as a public confrontation with ministry heads and engineers, questioning ongoing lapses in project execution. Ali specifically addressed instances of engineers failing to locate certain contractors—despite these same contractors collecting government payments. “They come to the Ministry of Education to collect payment, but they can’t come to a meeting where they’re behind on the project?” Ali questioned pointedly. He emphasized what he described as a “laissez-faire” attitude, urging officials to enforce stricter management practices.
In a second Facebook post, Hughes questioned whether any other head of state would adopt such an approach without personally accepting responsibility for the government’s shortcomings. “Can anyone identify any head of state who summoned his cabinet then named and shamed them in public without accepting responsibility for the obvious failure of his government? This is straight out of Chairman Mao’s playbook,” Hughes wrote.
Hughes argued that Ali’s strategy, while attempting to signal accountability, could damage the administration’s credibility by exposing structural failures without taking ownership of them. “In normal societies after such an admission, one would tender their resignation,” Hughes remarked, suggesting that Ali’s administration should consider fundamental changes if it cannot improve project management and transparency.
In addressing the delays, President Ali announced that projects exceeding four months without valid justification would face contract terminations. He also warned that repeat offenders or contractors found acting in bad faith could be blacklisted from future government tenders. “If you don’t complete the projects, we’ll have no other alternative but to look at termination,” Ali said, adding that project records may be referred to the national tender board if problems persist.
President Ali’s approach has sparked broader conversations about inefficiency and accountability in Guyana’s government contracting processes, especially with the 2025 General and Regional Elections approaching. Observers are closely watching to see if the administration’s recent emphasis on transparency and accountability will lead to meaningful reforms, particularly given past difficulties in addressing project delays through similar measures.
