…the President?
The Press Officer of President Granger has announced he’s “fully back at work”. Your Eyewitness is very worried. What does “fully back at work” mean? That he’ll be back to the same schedule before he detected those “symptoms” that made him fly over to Trinidad? Meaning, chairing Cabinet meetings that can last all day? Accepting invitations to events in various parts of the country – including the interior?
Your Eyewitness hopes not! He understands the need for press people to try to reassure the Guyanese people that the ship of state is in good hands, but they can’t lull those same people into unrealistic expectations about what the President can do at this time. The man just received his first round of chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – a type of cancer of the blood, in layman’s terms.
Folks need to understand what chemotherapy is, and how it can affect the patient. Very bluntly, unlike surgery or radiation treatment for cancer, which is very localised, chemotherapy involves introducing chemicals (hence “chemotherapy”) into your body to kill the fast multiplying cancer cells – in this case, your own white blood cells. The problem for the patient is that, while those cells are being killed, other fast multiplying “good” cells are also killed.
Very bluntly, the “chemo” treatment is a race between killing the body and killing the cancer cells. Because of the damage to “good cells”, the treatment is in cycles…one week of treatment followed by 3 or 4 weeks of rest, to allow the “good cells” to regenerate. During treatment, red blood cells – which transport oxygen to the cells of the body – are among the most likely “good cells” to be destroyed. The patient is then often listless and without energy, because of the lack of oxygen to the brain and other organs.
As the cycles continue, the effects of the chemo on the patient will become more severe and debilitating. And this is why the “handlers” of the President’s info must not be unrealistic in their announcements. As for the President’s duties, this is where we as a people should be reminded of the need to build institutions that take into consideration the frailties of the individuals who fill the roles in those institutions.
At this time, if the President can’t perform his role, the Prime Minister acts to do so. But in the case of the coalition, this PM is from a minority member, and not the President’s party. Is this the concern which is forcing the President’s office to announce that he is “fully” back on the job?? We have to be blunt about these questions, because the President’s life is literally at stake.
Let us give him time to recover.
…The fight against noise
While other forms of pollution may pass under our radar because they fall on us like a fine mist, noise pollution literally hits us like a punch in the gut! Especially with those “walls” of speakers that have become “the thing” at rum shops and other “sport” in private homes, and in specially sound-augmented cars. In addition to your eardrums being damaged – leading to Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) – even the windows of your house rock in sympathy!
After years of hapless citizens’ suffering without any recourse, there was a training session of some Police officers equipped with “decibel monitors” to respond to noise complaints. The problem was that, as soon as the officers approached two notorious noise spots in Kitty with their equipment, they turned down their blasters even before the cops could turn on their detectors!! In both instances!!
Obviously, someone from within the Police informed the rum shops about the impending raid.
And that is why nothing will come out of this “Noise Pollution Initiative”.
…Vote buying
The PNC’s so transparent. The only reason they want the Budget Debate is to announce a spending spree for their supporters.
Knowing they’ll lose the no-confidence motion and elections will be called in three months, the debate becomes free advertisement!!
