Your Eyewitness has been following the bare-knuckle infighting that’s broken out in the PNC as they approach their Congress at the end of July — wherein they’re supposed to be electing their leader. Now, he knows that all politics is local; but, jeez, does the PNC have to import their modus operandi of intimidation in national politics into their private affairs?? Or is that where it actually started? When Burnham was around, of course, not a dog barked!! But there were stories about Hamilton Green laying his gun on the table at cabinet meetings to intimidate the comrades!! Not surprisingly, Fat Boy made sure he was outside his succession plans by safe apparatchiki like Desmond Hoyte!!
There’s a difference between then and now, however. Then, the PNC was in power, and the Leader could banish ambitious comrades to foreign climes!! That’s what Burnham did to John Carter – who had his own following in the League of Coloured Peoples’ strata. So Norton, the present leader, gotta try to hold on to the reins of power – such as they are in a political party – the only way he knows how: bare-knuckled street fighting!! So we had the CPU with all the records of members who’d be voting at Congress suddenly gone “missing”!! Was it ever recovered? Was it vetted for corruption?? Enquiring PNC members would wanna know!!
Then one of the candidates for leadership – Roysdale Forde – publicly accused Norton of appointing members loyal to him – like the Executives, who’re practically all neophytes brought in on the slate and coattail – into the critical Credentials Committee. They’ll determine who votes!
But it wasn’t all “Get Norton!” One particularly vicious piece of character assassination was committed on the sole female challenger – dragging incidents from her personal life into the public arena. But that was just small potatoes compared to the bombshell that was just lobbed Norton’s way!
It was all meticulously stage-managed. First, a PNC member from foreign – a noted opponent of Norton – wrote to the press that Norton had sexually assaulted a very prominent female PNC leader from his hometown of Linden!! Well, Norton had to defend himself, and in doing so, he denied he was ever in the situation described – much less committing the act!! He dared the female PNC member to speak up – and she did!! That the incident was “true”, and she was only bringing it up now because it was already made public!!
So, what’s next? It’s now gonna be up to the membership of Congress to decide whose story they believe. But, in the meantime, other PNCites whose names were “called” will have to step up to the crease and bat for Norton – or his accuser!!
…the leader?
Now, while Norton’s facing the heat on sexual harassment accusations, one top civil servant – and a man of the cloth from back in the day – claimed that such actions were routine for Burnham!
He described, in the SN, a trip to Hope Estate, when Burnham would “supervise” the civil servants working in the canals. “There were some women folks who were in knee- deep water in the trench with their skirts stuck into the bottoms of their underpants. Here I heard firsthand the vulgarities, suggestive remarks, and abuses that were belched out to the members of the opposite sex. Burnham was barely twenty feet away from where I stood. I was incensed, and wondered what kind of “President” was this? A vulgar man makes a corrupt President.
“The Kabaka and his henchmen’s philandering were not a secret to many of us. I was reminded of one somewhat attractive young lady of Afro-Guyanese descent who was invited to a function at the Durban Park residence on Vlissengen Road. Late in the evening, she was propositioned by the Kabaka himself to be available for a more intimate encounter. People were generally scared to offend by refusal, because of serious consequences.”
Is this part of Burnham’s legacy being followed?
