We do not want our country being sidelined, blacklisted or sanctioned

Dear Editor,
There is an actual story in this jocular sequence leading up to Elections 2025. I am talking about Team Mohamed’s attempts at a political run for office. So, let’s take a closer look at this “Good Boy, Man fuh de job” aspirant as he goes on the campaign trail.
In the first place, he has come to the table with a ton of baggage, having been sanctioned by the USA as well as accused of shady dealings in the acquisition of his wealth. And here began the kickoff between the Mohameds and the Government of Guyana. Instead of working to clear his name from the American Blacklist, he has turned on the Government as the root cause for his demise. In his warped mindset, he sees it as a PPP/C Government-orchestrated sanction on him, so he does what most sanctioned people do; that is: turn on the Government for a cover to help him out of his miseries. But that is not going to happen, and Mohamed needs to think again.
There are lots of “Good Boys” in The Caribbean who tried this trick on governments, some even running for office. In Jamaica, we have Dudus Coke; in Suriname, Desi Bouterse and son; in Trinidad, Dole Chadee; there is another who is in the current St Lucian Government. Not forgetting us here in Guyana: the infamous case of Bharrat Jagdeo being accused of being in collusion with Roger Khan.
In that alleged corrupt deal, Guyana was called a “narco-state” and a grand transshipment point for Khan’s drugs. It was a marriage of Jagdeo and Khan, where his drugs were being shipped abroad under Jagdeo’s secret cover. Or so it seems.
Even Khan himself joined in the melee, weighing in that he “was fighting crime in Guyana.”
Jagdeo responded by asking the question: which crime, or for whom was he fighting? Certainly, Khan was not fighting for the PPP/C Government. Former Home Affairs Minister Gajraj was also included in that wide net of investigation. Jagdeo, a fighter in his own right, fought back valiantly, proving to the Americans that he was in no way associated with Khan. He even held a COI into Gajraj’s tenure in office, which also cleared his administration of any crime. So, we have been down this blacklisting/sanctions road before, only this time we are more careful in our handling of the situation.
So, let us look into the Mohameds’ situation. Instead of working on clearing his name, he has embarked on a campaign of undermining the PPP/C Government — a clear case of philanthropy taking a turn into a political rally.
He is accusing Government of corruption and bias against him, something Dr Jagdeo faced him square on with dead accuracy.
That is Jagdeo doing his part, but what about the ordinary people? Well, the people are fighting back now; they are standing up to Mohamed and the political “Good Boy” image he portrays. The people are railing against him in their communities, speaking in no uncertain terms, “We know whom we are voting for.”
This shady insidious manner of his, trying to woo sympathy votes from his philanthropic outreaches while openly campaigning for high office, does not sit well with the people, and they are beginning to fight back.
The people are saying, “We do not want our country being sidelined, blacklisted, or sanctioned with the Mohameds at this crucial stage of our development. We are not going to jeopardise our future with a character that needs redemption himself. Mohamed has been sanctioned, then deal with it! The Mohameds have millions that can pay off their debts, then deal with it! Don’t drag our country down with you!”
The point is that, being sanctioned or blacklisted, whether as Government or as a private citizen, is not a good thing. When that searchlight is turned on you, the situation becomes dire and desperate, as in the Mohameds’ case.
He needs to work on clearing himself of the sanctions, but I will caution him not to come into politics and see this as a throughway out of it. Do not come into the political arena thinking you can practise the divide and rule strategy on this country; it will not work!
To the Mohameds, I will say: work your way out of sanctions, and leave the politics for the big league.

Respectfully,
Neil Adams