…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 you use what you have to do the job. And with Budgets, the job is to spend the hard-earned taxpayers’ money to encourage high-paying job creation. It’s not surprising people prefer jobs over handouts. They know that, in this world, nothing’s really free…and with those PNC handouts, they’ll be expected to stifle their consciences and vote them back in 2020!!
On the other hand, when you have a job, you’re your own man or woman; you call your own shots. But that’s precisely what the PNC doesn’t want…they’d rather have a ring through your nose!! Look at how they fired those 7000 sugar workers! But even with the jobs they control in the Government service, they’ll be doling out salary increases in dribs and drabs – for one reason and one reason only: control!!
The pattern should’ve been clear in the PNC handling of the teachers’ demand for a “living wage”. It was not a “negotiation”, but a declaration that it’s either the PNC’s way or the highway! You can go through the Budget with a fine-tooth comb and you’ll be hard pressed to find an initiative that leads to job creation in the private sector.
The most pressing need of the latter is to get a cheap and reliable supply of electricity. If that’s provided, businesses will be encouraged to expand – and of course expand employment – because their cost of production will now be competitive with those foreign products we now import. With US$80 million of its own in the game, Norway told this Government the Amaila Falls Hydro is the best way forward with generating “green” energy for our industrialisation. But rather than AFHEP, we see these dinky little solar projects that can’t offer us 24/7 TV!! Control!!
As your Eyewitness has been stressing, a Budget, while detailing Govt spending for the next year, has to be part of an overall strategy to develop the country — by creating jobs. Forget all the hoopla about “Green Development Strategy” – where are the green jobs? If they were serious about developing people, wouldn’t they’ve diversified Wales into green co-ops so the small man could become the real man?
But it’s all a big mamaguy!!
…and reparations
With Britain finally getting the terms of its divorce from the EU, all the signs are we’ll be left out to swing (slowly) in the wind! By both the EU and Britain. Your Eyewitness was idly wondering whether their closer ties with Africa was because they’re not demanding reparations when he was seized by the headline “Glasgow University to make reparations valued at £200m extracted from Caribbean”!!
It seems the indefatigable Sir Hilary Beckles had worked out this deal while everyone was napping!! When the frisson of excitement had subsided, your Eyewitness then worried how the money was going to be shared out between all the territories of Caricom. Were we all going to get a lump sum payout like Professor Thomas had suggested for our oil money? Another delicious shiver of excitement!
But then he noticed the fine print in the article: the ‘reparations” were to be in “cash and kind”. More specifically, “research in chronic diseases in the Caribbean, including hypertension, diabetes, and childhood obesity”.
Meaning most of the money will go to Glasgow’s personnel!!
…on President’s health
Your Eyewitness had already complained about the President’s PR handlers putting too much pressure on him by announcing he’s “fully back on the job”.
They’ve thankfully backtracked and admitted he’s cut back his public engagements.