It was indeed a disappointment for your Eyewitness when the Budget Debate kicked off yesterday. After the Government’s Finance Minister traditionally presents the Budget – as Ashni Singh did last week – the Leader of the Opposition (LOO) then gets a full hour to present the opening salvo of the Opposition’s response. In this riposte, the LOO has the opportunity to take a holistic view of the Budget and offer a comprehensive articulation of what the Opposition would’ve done if they were in Government. A “what could’ve been”!!
But it was not to be, since the PNC and their coalition partner, the AFC, still haven’t managed to end their internecine war and elect a LOO. A “shad, shad shituation” as a statesman from one of the departed coalition members used to say profoundly! Our wise forbears say that “when yuh na gat momma, yuh gat fuh suck granny” and that’s exactly what the Opposition had to do. Rather than ONE LOO offering that overarching Opposition vision, we had various members of that Opposition putatively taking potshots at parts of the Budget – as EACH saw fit!!
After the first Speaker gave it HER best shot, it was clear what’s gonna follow. Rather than presenting alternatives to show voters that the PPP was off-base – as in any good debate – it was just a wild attack at everything in sight – continuing their fight as to who should be the Leader of the PNC in the National Assembly. With each seeing themselves better than the other, it’s going to be a competition to see who can cuss down the PPP “stinker and duttier”!!
It was disgraceful. Burnham would’ve been heartbroken, since not a scintilla of wit was on show.
The first PPP MP to follow was forced to comment that the histrionics he’d just witnessed reminded him of a “headless yard fowl” flapping and flailing away!! The Speaker was forced to enquire as to whether the PPP MP was speaking personally about the PNC MP – which could’ve been interpreted as bad form – but was told that, regrettably, it was in reference to the headless condition writ large over in the Opposition benches! A shad, shad, shituation indeed!!
What was even sadder was that, over the weekend, the PNC presented a picture of a bear eating away at its own foot in a desperate attempt to free itself from a leg-hold steel trap!! One news outlet reported that a Reg 5 member of the CEC moved a motion – and had it seconded – for Harmon; his toady, Mahipal; and three other MPs to resign! And that Representative of the APNU/AFC List (RAAL), Granger, should appoint Norton as an MP!!
It was denied, of course, but it just emphasised the shad, shad shituation!!
…dangers
Some members of the PPP – or its partisans – are certainly chortling with schaudenfreud – pleasure in the troubles of another! – at the PNC’s leadership meltdown. But your Eyewitness wants to emphasise once again that this ain’t good for Guyana. At the barest minimum, it’s downright embarrassing for the ENTIRE country – ALL of us! It’s just like when the PNC couldn’t calculate the majority of 65!! Did you think that CCJ Judge was snickering at only the PNC?
One of the dangers is that frustrated fans of Norton might just take those attacks on the Sanctimonious Gangster and Lil Joe seriously – rather than conceding that it’s just political ambitions playing out. Could it be that this is why Granger’s holed up at Pearl? But, more seriously, with all the money now floating in with the oil, we can’t pretend that corruption isn’t also gonna be rising.
But, as they say, it takes a thief to catch a thief. So, if the PNC can get its act together as the Opposition…!!!
…accidents or sabotage?
Your Eyewitness notes the regular fires around the country on strategic locations. Could these be spontaneous? He thinks that where there’s smoke, there’s gotta be fire – pun intended! And when we can actually SEE the fire, we better find the source!
