A leader…

…for all seasons
There’s this criticism of leaders – such as Norton – that they’re “disconnected” from the people they’re supposed to be leading. Well, you can accuse President Ali of any number of things, but THAT ain’t ever gonna be one of them!! The man is here, there and everywhere, 24/7, mixing and mingling with the folks here and in the diaspora. Today, he’ll be walking across the New Demerara Harbour Bridge, leading thousands from all walks of life!!
He’s even broken the biggest barrier of all – the ethnic enclaves claimed by the Opposition as being their transported property!! Linden? Mocha? Golden Grove, Buxton? Been there, done that – and then some!! And we saw the results in the elections as Pressie leads the PPP to inexorably widen its base!! The “some” being all sorts of problems getting fixed and all sorts of initiatives launched to “bring Government to the people”!! Governments are chosen by the citizenry to serve their needs, but once in office the tables are usually turned. From the amount of bowing and scraping that goes on when ordinary folks meet those who’re now called “big ones”, you’d think the citizens had anointed them Kings of Kings!!
And to your Eyewitness, if nothing else, this will be President Ali’s biggest contribution to the political culture of Guyana. That Government officials have to be accessible to the citizen who put them into office!! They must EARN their respect by serving those people and not DEMANDING it because they’ve been given a title. The latter simply describes the job they’re supposed to be doing for the people. Minister of Social Services?? Well, just ensure that such services get delivered to the target group!! For instance, there shouldn’t be a single person on public assistance who doesn’t get their cheque every month. And from even a cursory walkabout, your Eyewitness knows that plenty such folks are falling through the cracks.
As your Eyewitness had complained before – he thinks it’s a positive step for the Minister of Home Affairs to’ve requested a halt to sirens and flashing lights for public officials’ private vehicles – much less private ones. From what we saw with Naga’s five years, those are simply used to emphasise how SPECIAL these officials are!! If there are traffic jams – let the officials experience them! And maybe they’d urge their colleagues in Public Works to fix bottlenecks more expeditiously!! It’s noteworthy that President Ali’s use of outriders and sirens is waaay below the mark set by Granger!!
While some perennial critics are complaining that Pressie’s “usurping” the position of his Ministers and local officials, they miss the point that the President’s forays wouldn’t have been necessary if those worthies had been doing their jobs!!
These officials – and Opposition – are getting dizzy!!

…in obesity
With the launch of a new US fast food joint – this time Wendy’s – your Eyewitness continues to be taken aback at the pace of new restaurants, cafes, grills, etc. being opened. Especially fast foods. Now, don’t get your Eyewitness wrong; he’s had (more than) his fair share of fast food!! So he can offer testimony as to their success in engineering their recipes to ensure you come back for more – and more and more…!!
The problem, however, is that in their foods’ “engineering”, most stuff we crave – apart from sugar – hits our taste buds when they’re dissolved in fats. Wendy’s Pretzel Bacon Pub Triple delivers a not-so-cool 1520 calories in one serving – which even beats KFC’s 1458-calorie Zinger Stacker Burger Box!! And imagine these chains encourage us to “supersize” everything – including sodas that are packed with sugar!!
Can you imagine what these foods gonna do to our obesity index – and their accompanying ailments such as diabetes and heart disease?? Ouch!!

…in trouble
Well, the Yanks hit another drug boat in the Caribbean Sea coming out of Venezuela, where Mad Maduro’s Cartel of the Sun has monopolised their drug trade. Won’t someone step up to collect that US$50 million bounty for the madman??