…on Amerindian land
Another day, another spiteful PNC action against the Guyanese people exposed; this time, against the Indigenous Peoples, when, for all intents and purposes, the Amerindian Land Titling (ALT) programme has been dumped. But who’s surprised, apart from the Amerindian quislings in the Government? And if the truth be told, they can’t really be surprised, since they’ve been getting their instructions since 2015 to keep their mouths shut. It’s like the PNC hit “ALT-Delete” button on the quislings’ computers, so they can’t question anything.
The moment the PNC launched their Commission on Ancestral Lands and included Amerindian lands in the CoIs’ remit, they tipped their hand. The strident protests by some from their ranks — that Amerindians were getting too much land — just confirmed their covetous plan to hold off on any more land titling. After all, what was there to “Inquire” into?
Amerindians’ claims to their lands are part and parcel of the Articles of our Independence Agreement with the British. Stephen Campbell had gone up to London and negotiated on behalf of his people for their fair share of land. He could’ve easily claimed all of Guyana, since Britain and other civilised jurisdictions have abandoned the doctrine of “terra nullis” – that is: to claim by international law (which they made up as they went along!) that even though the Amerindians were living here in clear sight, the land was deemed “unoccupied”!!
So Campbell got ‘Annex C’ inserted into the Independence Agreement, which mandated that Amerindians have to be given title to all lands occupied by them since “time immemorial”. Which is not such an onerous test as it sounds – they had to simply show they’d been living on the land or using it for a specified period.
But this clause had always irked the PNC types, who insisted ALL Guyana was theirs – to have and to hold (or destroy) as they saw fit! But after Amerindians kicked up a storm at the CoI – and the international community and Opposition supported them on the issue – the PNC backed OFF.
But the PNC didn’t back DOWN. Your Eyewitness has always been reminding you, dear reader, that the PNC always follows the Burnhamite doctrine: that “there are many ways to kill a cat”. Or, in this case, to deny Amerindians land rights.
And this amazing declaration that — even though the money’s available to complete the ALT – not even a SINGLE new claimant village has been given its title since 2015 shows that foot-dragging is their latest gambit!!
The PNC fired the entire ALT team the moment they got into office. And like Humpty Dumpty, it will NEVER be put together again!!
…molasses industrial action?
Well, after centuries of underdevelopment by those dastardly Britishers, Guyana’s finally entered the Industrial Age. Naah…Your Eyewitness isn’t talking about the oil strike; that’s just pumping oil from a hole in the ground. And in any case, Guyana has absolutely NOTHING to do with the aforesaid pumping!! We’re talking about the crack crime sleuths of SOCU springing into action to find out who’s been leaking figures on the production of MOLASSES at Enmore!!
Now, dear reader, you might protest that since the colony was founded, we’ve been making molasses to produce sugar. And that any idiot can figure out the amount of molasses being produced from the amount of cane shipped to the factory!! But THAT’S not the point, is it? The PNC Government spitefully shut down Enmore factory just to stick it to the sugar workers, who’ve always been fervent supporters of the PPP. “High costs”.
To satisfy their contract for molasses to DDL, they HAD to crank up Enmore; but they don’t want to let out that costs are now DOUBLE what prevailed before!!
Dunderheads!!
…on AFC drunk
Now, if a connoisseur and habitual imbiber of bush rum like Whim’s own Moses Nagamootoo had to cut loose the loose cannon at Bath as his “special assistant”, why’d the PNC keep him?
His hagiographic PNC letter writing, of course. Jail him!!
