…failed regime
It ain’t often your Eyewitness gets a real belly laugh from reading our daily media – excluding re-reading his own columns, of course!! But he was in stitches after reading a letter from David Granger responding to a critical article in one of our online news outfits. Seems that the former president – described as a “Sanctimonious Gangster” by Caribbean leaders after his 2020 rigging attempt – didn’t like the column’s punch line: “His regime came across as an incompetent, arrogant, over-promising, under-delivering cabal…”!!! Wow!!
But Granger exposed his arrogance even in the FORMAT of his letter!! Signing as “David Granger, former President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana”, he ostentatiously and repeatedly referred to himself in the third person throughout his missive!! As in “The Office of the former President has taken note…” or “President Granger responded…” or “President Granger’s restoration…” Clearly he was imitating the style of communication of the British monarchs whom he revered!! Your Eyewitness remembers his bowing so low to the now-deceased Queen Elizabeth that he almost kissed the hem of her gown!!
So how did Granger respond substantively to the succinct summation of his record as president? Starting off with a bland assertion, “The article made several erroneous and malicious statements against the former president” – there he goes again with his pompousness! – All the man did was to string together a welter of non-sequiturs about his supposed “accomplishments”! For instance, on the “over-promising, under-delivering cabal” charges, this is what he countered with: “The APNU+AFC Coalition measurably increased the State Old Age Pension (SOAP) and public sector salaries and wages”!!
Can you believe that?? This is the man who criticised the PPP governments for giving public servants “starvation” annual increases after their 36% super raise in 1999, promised them “substantial” raises on the campaign trail and ended up giving them 5%! In 2015!! But that wasn’t all – at the same time, he gave Cabinet Ministers (his ruling “cabal”!) a FIFTY-PERCENT increase!! But to his credit, he did say before the announcement that “Those who are lazy will get lazy-man salaries.” So we can infer from the 5%, his assessment of public servants!! Sanctimonious Gangster!!
Another counter to the “overpromising” charge was offered by Granger: “President Granger purposefully established the Guyana Youth Corps aimed at providing young people who were not in education, employment or training (i.e., NEET) with skills for self-employment.” Now, this Youth Corps – originally launched by Burnham in 1968 and spectacularly failed – was promised by Granger (in 2015) to be launched in 2017, then 2018. It finally got going in 2019.
But it was doomed to “underperform” because Aubrey Norton, who’d been fobbed off as “Presidential Advisor on Youth Empowerment”, wasn’t even involved!!
Begone, sanctimonious gangster!!
…election schedule
Step by step, we’re moving inexorably towards what’s gonna be a historic election on Sept 1st – with the latest step being Pres Ali signing proclamations declaring that Parliament and RDCs were now dissolved!! Your Eyewitness always expects that such signings would be followed by a fella blowing a trumpet from the public buildings balcony and bellowing “HEAR YE! HEAR YE!!” as he reads the proclamation from a sheepskin parchment scroll!!
Clearly, addressing the Opposition’s relentless campaign to discredit GECOM and its preparations for the elections – so as to supposedly allow the PPP to rig – the President declared after signing the proclamations: “The task of administering the forthcoming elections rests with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), and I remain confident in its ability to hold free, fair, and credible elections.” What’s ironic is that the trial of pro-PNC GECOM officials and PNC officials for attempting to rig the last elections is presently before the court!!
Talk about taking your (PNC) doody and rubbing it on others’ (PPP) bamsies!!
…agri focus
Pressie also announced his government’s finally secured financing to provide crop insurance for some 6000 rice farmers. This had long been a hurdle in maintaining stable production levels as we head towards exporting 1 million tonnes!!
