Dear Editor,
When Madam Beni Rayman called me around noon on Saturday, May 10, 2025, I thought she wanted to just say hello, but it was to break the news of the unexpected passing of Comrade Amna Ally. I was in shock and grief as I did not know Ms. Ally was unwell. I did not know what to say, as I was also driving at the time, so I told Madam Rayman I was driving, and we hung up the phone.
Immediately after I pulled over and parked, as a deep hollowness began to fill my stomach, and I felt nausea, as all sorts of emotions began to take me over. This news rocked me to the core, not only because I was sad about Cde. Ally’s sudden passing but due to who she was and what she meant to the institution of the PNCR and what it meant to her. So, I began to reflect! Amna Ally dedicated her life to public service!
Amna Ally was a teacher, politician, PNCR’s chief party scrutineer for multiple national elections, member of parliament, chief whip, minister of government, general secretary, and executive member of the PNCR, who came from the bosom of the Young Socialist Movement (YSM), the youth arm of the then Peoples National Congress.
She was fierce, bold, controversial, knowledgeable, fearless, kind, confrontational, helpful, and savvy. She was also a go-getter. I came to know Amna Ally when I became a member of the GYSM, many years ago. I was curious to know who this sassy woman was and learned that she came from parents who were closely aligned with the Founder Leader of the party.
I learned that her father, Barkat Ally, one of Region Five’s biggest rice farmers, was one of L.F.S. Burnham’s strongest allies in that region. I thus understood her passion and commitment to the party, which I never took for granted. Amna struck me as a fierce advocate of her party who would go the extra mile to ensure that she fulfilled whatever responsibility she was tasked with.
Cde. Ally, as many of us called her, was my chief whip when I served in the parliament, and during those years, we PNCR MPs made a commitment to contribute a portion of our parliamentary earnings to the party to assist with different programmes.
Amna Ally was not the general secretary of the party at that time, nor was she the treasurer, but she was bold enough to remind me of that contribution if she thought I had forgotten, or even before the parliamentary salary had reached my account. She was relentless and aggressive in her efforts to promote party activities and programmes.
Though she was never the party’s treasurer, she often acted as if she were responsible for raising funds for the party, often lamenting that “the party needs money.” Amna Ally, even before she became general secretary, led the party’s fundraising efforts and activities. Whenever the party had a fundraising venture, she would call me, as the National Secretary of the GYSM, and inform me that she was sending a certain number of tickets for the GYSM to take deva of.
Before she ends the call, she would say in her true country girl vernacular, “Lurlene, yuh know meh nah tek back tickets, you know how fuh do it, if yuh want more leh me know, gee all ah dem in de executive fuh sell tuh.” That was her usual aggressive approach to getting things done for the party, I am quite mühlet many in the party received those calls and heard that usual “meh nah tek back ticket” refrain.
She did what she had to do to get the job done. Sometimes, we cussed her out behind her back as we fussed at the way she would throw large quantities of tickets at us, but she never got any back. Amna was masterful at fundraising, especially at congress time, where she took charge of meals for the attendees over the duration of the congress.
She knew how many cows, bags of rice, and every other item she needed and where those items would come from. She planned and executed her mission well. Amna Ally did all she could have done to advance the interest of the PNCR, and she did so based on what she perceived to be the best strategy to achieve the objective.
I did not always agree with her, and I am aware that she didn’t always agree with me, but what I know is that she understood that we both were passionate about the PNCR and wanted to do our best in the party’s interest. This created a sense of mutual respect between us.
I know that on many occasions she disagreed with me and would express that to others, because she was that kind of person who would just let it out! I recalled that while she was minister, I visited her at her office to confront her on an issue, and she remarked that “Oh God Lurlene meh nah know but dah, yuh come till hay fuh dah,” then she quickly and skillfully tried to change the subject as we shared a joke about her office and her new role.
I saw her again in 2020 during the last national election campaign. I received a phone call from her saying she heard I was in Guyana and was on the road campaigning, I said yes and she remarked “but yuh nah get nutten fuh campaign wid,” I told her I made my own flyers, because I heard she is hoarding campaign stuff, she denied and give an explanation of what plans she had and asked me to go to congress place to collect some flags and other campaign paraphernalia. By the time I got to Congress Place, the instruction was already given to give me the materials.
There can be no denying that Amna Ally was more than an asset to the PNCR and Guyana; she served in various capacities in the party and nationally. Her long and distinguished service in the National Assembly is a testimony to her contribution to the nation. On her political journey, she helped to mentor and advance the political careers of many, some of whom might have forgotten. Yes, she did not always use the right tone or say the right things, but that does not negate the fact that she was one of the hardest-working members of the PNCR.
She has dedicated her life to a party she grew up in; she has dedicated her energies and focus to an institution she believes in. She fought for ideals that she held and beliefs of a party she revered. Yes, like all of us, she made her fair share of human mistakes, which fade in comparison to her monumental sacrifice and contribution.
Amna Ally was PNCR in every way; she breathed and talked PNCR. She epitomized dedication, commitment, resilience, sacrifice, and loyalty to an organisation. Her service was unbroken, and her commitment unswerving. I don’t know of any time when she took a “time-out” from the PNCR or went on an invented “sabbatical leave” from the party.
She was there through the good and bad times and represented that steadiness in the party. Many came, left, or took time out, but Amna Ally was there, and that must mean something to the PNCR and its membership. Her consistency throughout all those years, beginning in her youth, is a sign of tremendous dedication. This was what a party stalwart looks like! Her work in the PNCR helped to shape the party in many ways, and for that, the party must be grateful. I was fortunate to have known her. She was a strong leader!
Amna Ally has served her party and country well; her name is etched in the history and the nation. She served to the best of her ability, and she worked tirelessly for the good of a better party and country. May her soul now find eternal rest. Sincere condolences to her family, many friends, and the PNCR. Sleep well, Comrade, Sleep well! You have been in the game, played your role, done your part, and have now moved off the stage! In the end, you did it your way!
Yours truly,
Lurlene Nestor