…democracy in PNC?
In the world, there’s “real”, and then there’s “surreal” – which we’re told means “characterised by the intense irrational reality of a dream”. You know…when events seem real, but just don’t make sense or logic. In Guyana, when it comes to the PNC, things are always more surreal than not. Remember when they promised in 1972 that the “small” man would become the “real” man? You’ll appreciate what “surreal” means if you found out that within a few years after all the huffing and puffing, the “small man” had become hungry, naked and homeless!
Anyhow, right now, the PNC are once again demonstrating their surreal nature: while doing everything to destroy democracy in the country, and few stalwarts – who participated fully in that grotesque rigging attempt – are demanding democracy in their party leadership elections, due this year!! These jokers deserve exactly what their present leader Granger is dishing out to them! After trampling all over the Guyana Constitution – and making it an object of mockery all over the Caribbean by insisting that 33 wasn’t the “majority” of 65 – they’re now accusing Granger of not following their party’s constitution!!
That constitution – which Burnham had also fixed to give him, as leader, absolute power – is now being used by Granger to hold off the challengers. They believe that since Burnham’s Art 22 – which gave him absolute power over the party “between Congresses” – has been changed, they can demand that Congress be summoned and elections held!! They’re burying their heads in the sand to the fact that PNC Congresses’ elections had always been used as dress rehearsals for rigging National Elections.
Why go back to the Burnham days that serve as the template? Remember, in 2011, Corbin and Co first fixed the delegates’ list to have their loyalists be the majority? Remember when Norton, Greenidge, Riehl, and others cried foul? And the rigging moved to the counting of the ballots? And when that count was disputed and dragged on, gunshots were fired? And that even though Norton and his Linden posse walked out, Granger was anointed “leader”? Reminds you of what happened nine years later at Ashmin’s Building? That’s what surreal is!
But, right now, Granger doesn’t even have to open up the PNC playbook to fix the Party’s elections. Serendipitously for him, the COVID-19 pandemic is building up such a head of steam that even his opponents have to concede that his delay might have some merit. So, they’re going around “mobilising the base” – but actually burnishing their own images – and using surrogates from “foreign” to throw mud at Granger.
They’re just pi55ing in the wind. And we know what happens when that’s done, don’t we?
Blows right back at you!!
…shutdown
There’s a big lobby out there demanding a “shutdown” to stop the COVID-19 tsunami – not “wave” – that’s building up a head of steam before washing over us. But, simultaneously, we’re hearing a babel of demands that wages must be raised because prices are going through the roof. This should remind us that, when we talk “lockdown”, we have to factor in its impact on the working poor and almost poor.
How will they get their daily bread? Do we have the social security net to satisfy their “basic needs” – like the Americans do? You know we don’t! So, any lockdown will have to be a controlled lockdown that allows businesses to stay open. One suggestion your Eyewitness has is that the employees of these businesses must all agree to be vaccinated. From what the Minister of Health is saying, we have enough vaccines on hand or in the pipeline to accomplish this.
Combined with the “social vaccine” from enforcing the COVID-19 social protocols, we can earn a living and also live!
…variants’ identification
Just when your Eyewitness thought we’d tied down the COVID-19 variant conundrum – we have or don’t have? – with PAHO’s affirmative announcement, the Minister says we haven’t been testing since January.
So PAHO’s blowing smoke up our…?
