Your Eyewitness is a tad confused about that trip to Washington by our Opposition worthies. There was that old flick in which Jimmy Stewart starred – “Mr Smith goes to Washington” – in which Jimmy plays an idealistic young Senator from the country boondocks who gets a lesson about the cynicism that fuels that city of Sodom-on-Potomac!! Well, looking at the entourage who were jetted up to the said Sodom from our not-so-fair Mudland, your Eyewitness wondered how many of them were still idealistic enough to believe the spiel of the hustler from Canarsie (Brooklyn) who organized the “Conference”!!
Firstly, the name “conference”! This moniker invokes serious analyses by experts on the subject under review, and insightful interventions from the floor – all leading to some kind of consensus and plan of action going forward. The Conference was on “Combating Racism, Inequality, Injustice And A One Party Ethnocracy In Guyana.” Whew!! No ambiguities there!! Seems there weren’t any “cons”, and all “pros” in that topic that needed to be cleared up!! And that explains the extreme vetting of the attendees, where one notorious provocateur wasn’t invited to vent his spleen, even though he’d once stormed the Presidential Complex!! That might’ve been extreme THE – but couldn’t pass muster now!!
But your Eyewitness was quite intrigued as to how the Opposition would articulate one of their fundamental articles of faith coming out of the 2020 elections – which saw them voted out in favour of the PPP. That it was the US Government who’d ousted them and INSTALLED the PPP!!
In fact, after 2020, they’ve been referring to the PPP Government as “the illegally installed racist regime” – with “apartheid” thrown in for good measure!! How would this go down with members of the Black Caucus who were very prominent in the Biden Administration – which has backed the PPP as fervently as the preceding Trump Administration??
Well, for one…none of the Big Wigs showed up on Day 1 of the “Conference” – when the verbal fireworks from down under flew like bombs bursting in air!! The shyster organizer apologised for their absence, and claimed they were busy trying to prevent a shutdown of the American Government. Problem was – there wasn’t gonna be a vote in the House until Saturday, when the “Conference” would’ve been loooong over!! But that allowed several Speakers from Guyana to regale the forty or so true believers who’d been allowed in as to how the big, bad PPP Govt was being propped up by the dastardly American racists!!
So, what’s expected going forward?? The handful of diehard PNC supporters who schlepped to Washington will dig into their pockets to support any movement to remove the PPP Government.
Their only question is “under whose leadership??”! Norton’s or Amanda’s??
…development
Your Eyewitness is taken aback at the pace of new shops, restaurants, malls and supermarkets, among other things being opened. He’s assuming the folks making these investments have done their basic due diligence and verified that there’s enough money circulating among the masses to keep them spending.
He emphasizes “masses”, since he’s not fooled by the astronomic numbers bandied about on oil revenues pouring into Guyana. He constantly reminds himself that 84.5% of the said revenues ain’t never coming into Guyana! And of the 14.5% that does, most of it is paid overseas for our imported petroleum products etc!!
But he’s hoping the competition will push prices downwards. Or those businesses will discover that while plenty folks will be coming to gawk and mill around, they won’t be pushing their hands into their pockets!! Cause the said pockets are generally empty after paying for groceries and rents.
The truth is development’s happening, but it’s not like the Govt can wave a wand and have it achieved immediately!
…foreigner categorization
Your Eyewitness read about those eighty or so Venezuelans who landed at the Tuschen foreshore recently. They were described as “migrants”, and arrested. So, what’s the distinction between migrants and refugees? Weren’t the “migrants” also fleeing life under Maduro??