Is the PNC blaming the PPP for the floods in Linden actually a compliment- since it implies the PPP is responsible for the heavy rainfalls?? Up to now, your Eyewitness assumed those were due to acts of God or Mother Nature – who might very well be God for all we know!! But this habit of blaming the PPP for their own shortcomings has long passed the annoyance stage. It’s gotten to a point where the PNC’s admitting they literally can’t even clean their own derrieres – after dumping their loads!! How long haven’t the filth of Georgetown not been blamed on the PPP??
So why the heck do we have Mayors and their Councils to run our Municipalities? As far as your Eyewitness knows – apart from Central Government providing the Municipalities a subvention annually- it’s up to the local bodies to look after their own affairs! Don’t they collect rates and taxes?? Then there are the Central Government subventions that are supposed to “top up” their collections. So what happened to all the subventions they collected up to now?? Wasn’t $1,000,000,000 – 1 BILLION – allocated to Municipalities in 2018?? And we know Linden’s cheque for 2024 was just collected …so will this disappear into a black hole also??
But we have a more fundamental problem playing out here. The PNC’s weaponizing every challenge in the communities where African Guyanese – their major base – dominate. Just to make political mileage. Never mind they’re increasing the misery of their supporters – cynically hoping that the “Blame PPP” routine will work. Rather than advising and assisting these communities to become self-sufficient and independent of the Central Government – as they’d announced grandly when they introduced “decentralization” with the RDCs, NDCs and Municipalities – they blame the PPP whenever the latter are in government!!
But ole people say “all smart fly do end up in a cow’s backside”!! And from what we’re witnessing across the country, the PPP’s change of strategy to engage in direct courting of ethnic communities is bearing fruit. Since their “own” party insists they can’t do anything for them and the PPP is stepping up to the plate, who can blame even old PNC party stalwarts for taking a new look at the PPP?? This tendency is exacerbated by the collapse in the PNC leadership as they fight each other to become “leader”. How can they inspire confidence in their base when they can’t get their act together to show they have a chance of capturing the government??
Their walkabouts in communities amount to nothing more than shooting the breeze since they’ve been unable to unfurl a strategy that even SUGGESTS they can undercut the PPP’s drive to 2025.
The question is: “will they be alive in twenty-five”??
…the PNC dogfight
The word “dogfight” was widened after WWI when those little bi-planes went at each other in the skies like dogs on the ground as they fought viciously over scraps or whatever. Well, there’s quite a dogfight going on within the PNC as they approach their party’s Congress come end of June!! At this stage partisans of the challengers to Leader Norton are coming out of the woodwork snarling and slathering with their fangs bared!!
Now, when all the heat’s directed at one man, you know these are acts of desperation – cause the incumbent’s unassailable!! So we hear trash-talk about the leader being autocratic, high-handed, out-of-touch – even corrupt!! But their founder-leader Burnham used to say – “Never canoe can bore punt”!! The fact of the matter is Norton’s doing exactly what every PNC leader before him did – including Burnham. They use whatever means available to remain in office – whether in the party or in the government.
All is fair in love and war – and politics is war, baby!!
…Congressman Jackson
Interesting letter in the press advising Congressman to fix his own constituents’ problems in Chicago rather than skylarking in Guyana. But he’s just following in his father’s footsteps, innit? What problem in the States did Jesse ever solve??
