…by picketing
Folks were beginning to wonder if the APNU/AFC had folded up their tent and disbanded. After all, they hadn’t been sighted for two months – since they came out to present their election petitions to the courts.
“Yes…petitions”, plural. The second one just in case the first fails – which it almost certainly will! But then came word to the media that APNU was going to rally at the Square of the Revolution to highlight “the PPP failures” in office during their first 100 days. Nothing about the AFC!
Predictably, their release started out griping about COVID-19. Now this is well-trod ground by the rest of the world, and all governments are torn in drawing a line between a complete lockdown (which would implode the economy and cause everyone to starve to death in any case) and having no restraint (which ensures approximately 5% of those infected will die). In every country, folks will disagree where their government draws their particular line. It’s easy for the PNC (which is what APNU has now boiled down to, with all their “coalition partners” expelled!) to criticise in hindsight.
They also brought up the still unfinished investigation into the WC Berbice triple murders. Well, that’s the point, isn’t it? “Unfinished”. Since neither the Government nor the Public Security Minister can get involved in operational aspects of the Police Force, while they’ve also expressed frustration at the case not being cracked, what can they do?? Play “book” detective, like the lawyer who’d suggested 33 wasn’t the majority of 65? They’ve been assured by the RSS that the GPF has the necessary competence.
But finally, and inevitably, they played the race card – which the PNC was formed since 1958 to play and split the independence movement and divide our country – and is all they obviously have left. They claimed the Government “dismissed over five hundred black workers.” Now there’s no question that the numbers are ridiculously inflated – like the “400 black youths killed” which has ballooned to “1700 Black youths killed”. Why even try to counter with facts – like the SN did – to show that it’s just incendiary rhetoric intended to inflame passions and precipitate violence?
But whatever the number of “black workers” dismissed from the Government, there’s the question of how come only “blacks” were hired as Permanent Secretaries, Board Members, Heads of Govt Corporations and high-paying contracted employees? Cause these are the only categories of workers that have been let go – as is customary whenever any administration changes.
Did they really expect Joseph Harmon, now the Opposition Leader, to remain as “Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency”??
No wonder no one showed up for their “rally”!
…and Police vehicles
The President just announced that the Government is sourcing 50 more vehicles for the Police. Seems that, once again, the GPF are complaining they don’t have vehicles to respond to the crime wave that’s rising even in this COVID pandemic. Now, what’s going on here? During the 23 years the PPP were at the helm, didn’t they bring in enough vehicles for the Police, so that the blue and white colours exceeded by far the number of taxis on the streets?
And when the PNC got into office, this is what a quick Google search uncovered they did in their five years: July 2015, 11 vehicles; May 2016, include one tow truck, eight Hilux pickups and five Mark X motorcars; Oct 2016, seven (7) all-terrain vehicles, three (3) pick-ups, and eight (8) motor cycles; Dec 2017, China added US$2.6M worth of vehicles in 56 pick-up trucks, 44 motorcycles, 35 ATVs, as well as five buses.
Surely, all of these couldn’t have been wrecked. After all, didn’t Ramjattan assure us that Police drivers would replace them if they did?
…and funding
There’s a class of people who are adept at milking the international feeding troughs by positioning themselves in the public eye.
Like the GHRA, that’s raising money to bring in “Argentine Forensic Experts”!
