…of two communities
Ever since sliding into office, the PNC-led government’s been working to relocate the squatters on a privately-owned piece of land in the prime real estate location at Broad and Lombard Streets. They were first told they’d be given house lots at Mocha on the East Bank, but they refused that offer after the NDC balked. Finally, a month ago, the government announced they’d be moving 20 of the families into houses built in collaboration with FFTP at Prospect on the East Bank. The remainder will be relocated to Cummings Lodge into similar homes to be built there.
Contrast this to the report this weekend that workers – purportedly from the CH&PA – swooped down on six squatter houses at Anna Catherina and demolished them to the ground. Why the difference in treatment between the two communities – apart from the obvious fact that one is rural Guyanese (Anna Catherina) and the other is urban-Guyanese (Broad and Lombard Sts)?
Well, the very next month after the May 2015 elections, then Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence, visited the Broad and Lombard St squatters and announced that: “their voices were heard at the recent elections, and it is time for the new government to intervene.” Yup!! This is the very same Volda Lawrence as Minister of Health and Chair of the PNC who said, “Only friends and PNC members can get wuk from the government”. With the recent developments on the Broad and Lombard St squatters, it’s clear that not only do PNC members get “wuk”, but also houses!!
Now if that’s all there was to it, one might mutter “well…political supporters must be stroked…” But look what happened to the squatters over on West Coast. They weren’t given three years to remain in their shacks while alternative arrangements were made. Instead, their houses were demolished on the spot and they were thrown into the streets with just their clothes on their backs – during the wettest period of the year. Why? The only variable is they were perceived as “PPP supporters” because of their ethnicity and singled out for “condign” treatment, as Burnham used to warn opposition members back in the day.
How different is this from what the same PNC government did to 7000 sugar workers when they unilaterally and arbitrarily shut down 4 sugar estates with no alternative employment opportunities arranged? They’re demonstrating they intend to destroy the PPP by destroying the morale of their supporters – come hell or high water.
All Guyanese – including supporters of the PNC – must stand up for what’s moral and just.
The PNC showed during their first iteration, after destroying PPP supporters, they’ll turn on their “own”
…moral blindness
After Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, was caught with his pants down with US$9000 deposited into his private account from China International Contractors (CIC), the government and its sycophants have their drawers all in a knot about how did the PPP get the info to release, rather than the deposit!! But that’s par for the course, for the PNC, ain’t it??
Then Patterson releases an INVITATION to an exhibition arranged by CIC and huffily insists he’d used funds from MARAD to cover the expense and when CIC paid for the trip into his account, he reimbursed MARAD! Well for one, how come if he was using MARAD’s bank account as his own, he didn’t tell CIC to send the money straight to their bank account?? But as a “Quantity Surveyor” – where the standard question to the client is, “How much do you want the property to be worth?” – Patterson’s been dodged by a dark cloud of shady deals.
Remember the “new” CJIA and sole-sourced DHB design?
…two cultures
Forced on the backfoot to explain the contretemps over their AFC colleague Patterson paying more for less on what was supposed to be a NEW terminal at CJIA, one AFC executive explained, “corruption is now cultural”!!
So why blame poor Patterson!! Blame his culture!!
