…with the (PNC) Bling Brigade
Greed is a drive that only increases as it’s pandered to: the more you get, the more you crave. It’s like an addiction wherein the votaries are
just as compulsive in satisfying the monkey on their back as your average street-corner junkie. Take, for instance, the slow, unfolding (nasty) drama revealing Minister David Patterson’s evident addiction for bling – the signifier of ghetto creed!
The fella was introduced to politics with the AFC as a staid, upstanding, nondescript land surveyor. Doesn’t get more banal and duller than that, as far as professions go, does it? Well, you never know! For as soon as the AFC sidled into office with the PNC – voila!! – from what we’re now learning, Patterson’s revealed himself to be as addicted to bling as any of the denizens of our inner-city ghettos! And uses the same method to obtain them – ripping off us (poor) slobs.
The nation had been shocked when they learnt that the manager of the DHB awarded himself a $900,000 gold bracelet last November for “International Men’s Day”. But it’s now clear that he must’ve been reacting to the depredations of his subject Minister, Patterson. This worthy appears to’ve carried off more loot from our treasury (in the form of bling) than Morgan the Pirate after the sacking of Portobello!
We heard about the $504,000 gold bracelet from 2017…but we now learn about $704,292 worth of purchases from Steve’s Jewellery last May – even as he was in the midst of finding “anomalies” during the vote recount. Must’ve been to reduce his tensions! Interspersed with those bling acquisitions were purchases that included perfume. Evidently, it’s infra-dig to be sporting all that bling without the appropriate odour!
But it wasn’t just the manager of the DHB who was inspired by Patterson to dip his mind in the till for purchasing bling: his junior Minister, Annette Ferguson, did quite well for herself in the gifts department, thank you! What with offerings from the DHB, Asphalt Plant and various other debts under the control of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. But just to show they weren’t totally ghetto in their tastes, they also had the DHB/Asphalt “donate” $6.7 million to purchase Samsung smart-phones ($406,000), Dell Laptops ($765,000) and Apple IPad Air ($427,000) for them!! The donations also covered queen size beds and other bedroom furniture. Maybe these were for sleeping in at the office when they pulled all-nighters!
All your Eyewitness can say is that this PNC Bling Brigade was a real “nevah-see, come-fuh-see” bunch of retrogrades!
But he wonders why Patterson never patronised the jewellery business (Topaz) of his fellow AFC Exec Dominic Gaskin.
…against Venezuela
According to U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, their Democratic administration will continue the policy of the departed Republicans to recognise Venezuelan Opposition Leader Juan Guaido as that country’s president. Not only that…Blinken told members of the US Senate that Biden would seek to “more effectively target” sanctions on the country, aimed at ousting Maduro.
So much for the armchair generals of the PNC who predicted Biden would pivot away from Trump’s policies in the region!! As the Americans have consistently maintained, they’re practitioners of realist politics in international affairs. And a cardinal principle of such politics is “there are no permanent enemies or permanent friends – only permanent interests!”
So, when the PNC counted on the Americans to close their eyes to their March rigging attempt – as they’d done with Burnham – they ignored the fact that the Cold War’s over.
The PPP satisfies the US interest of upholding democracy, so that they’re consistent in demanding democracy in Venezuela!
…with elections rigging
Meanwhile, over in Uganda, what could’ve been Guyana in our elections – but for the US, CariCom and the West – is playing out.
Ruling since 1986, Museveni has home-confined the Opposition Leader who claimed rigging.
But the African Union hasn’t supported the US Ambassador’s concern.
