…for smaller economy
What’s it with this government? Big government has been rejected by every sane country of the world yet they’ve decided to move full steam ahead in the opposite direction? Initially, when Prezzie announced a mind boggling 27 Ministers for his administration for a country with a smaller population than any main street (say, Broadway) in any major city in the US – your Eyewitness thought he was trying to be a political hipster. You know… all retro like back in the day with a Minister for every day of the month!
The US, mind you, with over 300 million people has only 15 Secretaries – as their “Ministers” are modestly called… but what do THEY know? But then there emerged a pattern: there was a method to the seeming madness and it was all explained when Prezzie announced that the government was still guided by the “philosophy” of the founder leader of the PNC, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.
And what was that philosophy, you ask dear reader? When it came to governments, Burnham insisted that “bigger was better”. This was so for the simple reason he believed the ordinary citizen was just clueless when it came to accomplishing anything. They were just so… undisciplined!! They needed to be led – and for this you needed leaders. He of course, was the Supremo who had so many powers, that he needed four Vice Presidents to assist him.
So if Burnham had four Vice Presidents… we have to appoint the same number. Never mind the title has no relationship to any responsibility the appointee had to take care of. Quick now… what exactly is Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge doing as a “Vice President”? Don’t even get your Eyewitness started on Khemraj Ramjattan!! And with that as background, you’ll now appreciate why OP – now called Ministry of the Presidency – needs more space. Gotta have people to keep track of all those Vice Presidents!!
But if you really do as Burnham did, you have to position your big and growing government on top of a shrinking economy. Why? Well jeez! Right now our economy is owned by all those private capitalists – and this just won’t do. But you can’t just nationalise them like back in Forbes days. So you let them die in the vine by not providing any stimulus or other monetary or fiscal help.
And then in a few years you just let them fall into the many hands of the government that’s been recruited and waiting!
Yes, dear reader – that’s why you have 27 Ministers and counting!
…and diversifying sugar
After slavery and Indentureship were tried as ways of providing labour to produce sugar, a well-meaning big one of sugar interests decided he’d try another way. Fella’s name was Lord Campbell. He thought, why not have the workers lease lands and plant the cane themselves as small farmers? They could then sell the cane to the factories.
He tried the experiment at Wales. In one phase he actually had houses built for the workers (Belle Vue) from where they could mosey over to their farms. No “drivers” and “overseers” to humiliate and exploit them. Another phase was to have farmers with large plots of their own land do the same thing. And at Wales you have the largest acreage of land in Guyana under cultivation by the descendants of African slaves.
And what does our Big Government do? With absolutely no consultation, as Burnham had done back in his day, they commanded that “diversification” was now the mantra.
So whether they like it or not… some “independent” farmers will have to plant rice. For which there’s no market.
…for prosecuting bad guys
In case you wondered why the AG Chambers had to also spread their wings – even if it means expropriating your Ambassador’s property! – remember they’re the government’s lawyers.
And if they’ve done all those audits to identify the bad guys (read PPP ex-officials) who’s gonna put them behind bars?
