President Irfaan Ali is playing on the job
In this Office Of The President photo, President Irfaan Ali (second left) engages in a game of domino while in Region 9 this past weekend
Since Guyana gained Independence in 1966, there have been Nine Executive Presidents inclusive of the current President, Irfaan Ali. The others were Linden Sampson Forbes Burnham, Hugh Desmond Hoyte, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, Samuel Hinds, Janet Jagan, Bharrat Jagdeo, Donald Ramotar, and David Granger.
Guyana’s history will show all of its former Heads of State approached the job with among other things, a focus on Foreign and diplomatic engagements, delegating duties, and formulating policies to help strengthen government systems and make life easier for the citizens of the country.
The Presidency is a very important portfolio making it a very demanding job.
President Irfaan Ali and Former President (now Vice President) Bharrat Jagdeo as they went on a late-night fishing trip sometime in 2021. It was one of the first photos that shows Ali as President enjoying the simple things of life
President Irfaan Ali has been playing extensively on the job and he has been doing it at every given opportunity. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? that will depend on which side of the fence you sit on this particular issue.
When it was announced by the Peoples’ Progressive Party Civic that Irfaan Ali would be their Presidential Candidate the questions were many. “Can he handle the job of President?” was one of the frequently asked questions.
President Ali’s presidency is shaping up to become one that is completely different and out of the box from the ruling of his predecessors.
Once the General Elections were over, Ali was announced President of Guyana on August 02, 2022. He would quickly move on to making off-the-cuff decisions, announcing major projects, initiatives, and policies aimed at advancing the country’s development agenda and strengthening diplomatic relations.
There is no doubt that President Ali is fulfilling his presidential duties as the taxpayers are paying him to do. It is also no doubt that he clearly misses his normal life and therefore tries to double his role as far as applicable whenever he has the chance. He has proven to be playful, social, and presidential all at once.
President Ali who is very sociable, plays. He plays a lot, he plays on the job, and his fun-loving character will add to the defining moments that history will remind us of when his presidency is examined.
It is said that once the president’s schedule is clear on Sundays, he would usually engage in Volleyball and cricket on the lawns of State House [The President’s Official Residence] with members of the Presidential Guard team. A few months back, President Ali was once spotted playing table tennis in his Official Residence with a friend.
President Ali plays a stroke while Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken keeps the wicket during a game at the National Park recently
Recently he organized a cricket game with the Commissioner of Police that saw very senior police officers playing against a team that was pulled together by The President. Both President Ali and Commissioner Hicken captained their teams and lead the bowling and batting. In that game, the president made the top score not out.
The president misses no opportunity to pick up a bat and ball irrespective of where he traveled in Guyana as he is an avid cricket player and fan. He has the same approach when it comes to the kitchen, he is on record speaking about his love for, and his ability to cook a good cook-up-rice. He also loves cooking curry.
A pot of Cook-up-Rice simmers as President stirs to prevent it from burning. The president was at the time cooking for the residents in Aishalton over the weekend
Just last weekend, The President was spotted cooking three large pots of food for villagers in Region 9 where he and members of his cabinet spent the weekend. On the menu was Cook-up-rice, Beef, and Chicken Curry with rice.
During a wee-hours site visit to an ongoing infrastructure project, President Ali is accompanied by Omar Narine, Chief Engineer at the Ministry of Housing and Water
From making unannounced wee-hours visits to ongoing infrastructure works in casual attire, playing dominos on the roadside, driving a passenger bus loaded with persons, and communicating in Guyanese creolese dialect, Guyana’s President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali is living up to the olden day’s tale of ‘All work and no play makes jack a dull boy’
There is hardly a week that does by without the President’s Official Facebook Page or other social media platforms showing him engaging in things Guyanese may have never seen done by any of their previous presidents.
After handing over a minibus to an Indigenous Community, president Ali himself took the wheel and had a test drive
These acts have been resonating well with the populace and while it allows them to see the normal side of the Guyanese President, for him, it seems to no doubt allow him to have the much-needed recreation he has enjoyed before being hired as the President of Guyana.
