Category: Eyewitness

…Parliamentary Democracy Parliamentary democracies function as “democracies” only if those in power observe the rules and conventions of the game. And it IS game, isn’t it? Think about the game of cricket we all love so much. Suppose the fella who’s batting refuses to come off when his stumps are sent flying – and he’s backed by the umpire who insists the game must continue? What then? Take this fella Nagamootoo, who was made Prime Minister when the APNU/AFC coalition took office. Because President is ill and had to fly…

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…and dishonourable PM The House of Commons, after which our National Assembly is modelled, runs on a host of traditions and conventions. Much of these have to do with regulating the behaviour of the members – who, after all, represent the “commoners” or lower classes, as opposed to the aristocracy. It is the custom, for instance, in Parliamentary democracies, for the members of the House to refer to each other as “the Honourable Member”. This, it was hoped, would encourage MPs not to descend into gutter language or fistfights, with…

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…on PNC “party paramountcy” Ever since the PNC-led coalition began to govern in 2015, it quickly became apparent to your Eyewitness that they seemed determined to prove the old adage that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. The original PNC “trick” was their insistence on practising “party paramountcy”. Party Chair Volda Lawrence’s statement that only her friends – all PNC, in any case – and PNC members could expect to get Government jobs is just another example of the “paramount party” mindset. Now young folks, who wouldn’t have…

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…by Nagamootoo on sugar workers Just when you thought the drama over Volda Lawrence’s frank avowal of her government’s “PNC-only employment policy” would be dominating Moses Nagamootoo’s attention, he devoted his Chronic column to blaming sugar workers for the medical challenges that led to his triple by-pass last February. At the time, your Eyewitness thought it was the PNC’s shredding of the Feb 14, 2015 Cummingsburg Accord, which had promised a Prime Ministership on steroids, but had instead delivered Larwah! Lest your Eyewitness be accused of putting words into the…

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…of political deceit …of political deceit Well! Well! Well! Who says you can’t go back home?? Raphael Trotman, Leader of the AFC, certainly showed Tom Wolff he was wrong when he wrote his famous novel of that name. But then, unlike Wolff and his town folks, Trotman’s been very careful not to throw any brickbats at his old comrades in the PNC, hasn’t he?? And now that he’s offered absolution to the beleaguered Chairman of the PNC, Volda Lawrence, when not a single PNC leader would, he’s ensured he has…

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…and Irfaan Ali There’s the old story of the scorpion and the frog. Wanting to cross a swollen river, a scorpion pleaded with a frog to take him across on the latter’s back. The frog demurred, raising his fear that the scorpion would sting him. The scorpion asked if the frog thought he was mad: pointing out that if he did so, they’d both drown. The frog thought this was a reasonable answer and allowed the scorpion to hop onto his back. Midway across the river, however, the frog felt…

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…Budget These PNC types are so transparent…but then, when something’s in your genes, it HAS to be expressed! Genotypes and phenotypes and all that!! Take the Budget Winston Jordan just read out in Parliament over a stupefying five hours!! Your Eyewitness doesn’t have to say he “told you so” on the PNC’s priorities: every Tom, Dick and Harilall predicted they’d be spelling out it’s a “bigger and better” Budget, stacked with handouts for its supporters!! But, as all Guyanese should know by now, bigger isn’t necessarily better – it’s how…

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…and Guyana …and Guyana You remember the ancient Greek story of Sisyphus; don’t you, dear reader? A real “wise guy”, Sisyphus thought he could pull a fast one on the Gods. But he was inevitably exposed, and sentenced to rolling a huge boulder to the top of a hill…only to have it roll downhill and he having to repeat the task. Again and again for all eternity. Those of us who lived in Guyana under the PNC during its first incarnation, and now again, know the feeling; don’t we? You…

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…the APNU/AFC coalition The way they jumped for cover, Opposition Leader Bharat Jagdeo might as well have lobbed a grenade amongst the members of the PNC-led APNU/AFC coalition when he lodged a motion of “no confidence” against them. Or did he let loose a cat amongst the government’s plump pigeons? Jagdeo’s press Conference to announce his intention had barely finished when “the leaders of the coalition” – as described by the state’s Chronic – huddled in one of their private houses. But while the Chronic took pains to give all…

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…for political survival Now that the LGE has confirmed the AFC’s “dead meat” state, Moses Nagamootoo’s desperately struggling to show some personal worth to the PNC — to enjoy his super salary and, as important, those sirens and outriders to convince him he’s “important”!! This was pathetically on display after the results showed the PPP had comprehensively defeated both the PNC/APNU and the AFC by 45,000 votes. After his prediction of trouncing the PPP in his home village of Whim was turned on his head, and the AFC was routed…

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