President Donald Ramotar says the late former Chairman of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) Dr Moti Lall was a PPP stalwart as he joined Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali to sign a book of condolences at the ministry.
“He worked very hard in many areas…he got a lot of work done since his return from Canada and we have worked very closely… his passing will have a big impact specifically on the West Demerara where he had a lot of patients and also on our party,” Ramotar said, according to the Government Information Agency (GINA). The president said Lall has left to mourn not only his family, but thousands of party members and supporters who appreciated and liked him. “Personally, I will miss him,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ali said that Lall will be missed tremendously for “his insight, his immense contribution, dedication, commitment and strength of character to the housing sector.” “He contributed significantly to the development of the housing sector during the 20 years he would have spent as Chairman of the Central Housing and Planning Authority and also to the development of an advancement of policies that would have seen the housing sector not only functioning in an effective manner but, implemented new approaches to development and a lot of what has been happening in the sector over the last 20 years is testimony of the hard work and great effort he put into the sector,” he said.
GINA noted that Lall passed away on January 10 at around 01:15 hrs at his Republic Park, East Bank Demerara residence after a prolonged period of illness. He was 69 years old. Born on January 14, 1942, Lall was the eldest of his siblings who all grew up in Buxton, East Coast Demerara.
He pursued his secondary education at Queen’s College, after which he pursued a career in the field of medicine, having been the recipient of a scholarship to study medicine in Havana, Cuba. Dr Lall then completed a post-graduate programme in pulmonary care at Rostock University in Germany and, after spending a few years in Canada, he returned to Guyana in 1968 as a pulmonologist. Lall then took up the post of Medical Superinten-dent at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.
GINA said Lall was also a former President of the Chest Society and was instrumental in the opening of the Chest Clinic in Orange Walk, Georgetown in his efforts to help reduce the scourge of Tubercolis.
The Ministry of Health bestowed the Silver Medal on Lall in 1983 and, in 1998 government bestowed the Cacique Crown of Honour on him in recognition of his long and dedicated service in the field of medicine. Dr Lall also served as a Member of Parliament in the Sixth and Seventh Parliaments from November 24, 1992 to February 15, 2001 and again in 2005. He is survived by his wife Chitra and their two children.
