They’d threatened to do it, but your Eyewitness didn’t think the PNC were that tone deaf to the substance versus the form of government. But he shoulda known better. How couldn’t they know about “substance” when, for twenty-eight years, their founder-leader had rigged elections and remained in power?? And called it “democracy”!! What else was that but desecrating even the FORM of democracy – going through the motions of voting to choose the Government – but not counting peoples’ votes!!?? Total cynicism!
What’s your Eyewitness going on about? Well, that suit PNC’s Cristopher Jones is bringing against the PPP Government to nullify its passage of the National Resource Fund (NRF) Act. You remember that, don’t you? The PNC had passed their version early in 2019, after the 2018 No Confidence Motion had effectively terminated their term of office. They broke all conventions of democracy on no-confidence motions when they laid such an important bill when they were supposed to be in suspended animation!! Especially when the Opposition was boycotting in protest. Yet, they insisted their NRF was legit.
Now, when the PPP tried to pass its version with them in the House, what did they do?? Attacked the Speaker, seized the Mace that represents the sovereignty of Parliament, and absconded with it!! And most egregiously, when a Parliament employee tried to protect the Mace, a PNC MP flung him to the ground, stood over him and called him a “House Slave”. The poor fella happened to be of African descent. But, from what we know of the PNC, the fella’s loyalty should be to them, and not to the National Assembly or the Government for which he works!!
While all of that was going on, the Speaker of the House kept a cool head and, cognizant of the Rules of Parliament, secured a substitute Mace and had the legislation passed. The PNC MPs walked out. Now, technically, the Mace must be present for the business of Parliament to proceed. And that’s why there’ve been sporadic attempts in other Parliaments – including Britain – to seize the Mace and disrupt proceedings. But your Eyewitness hasn’t been able to find a case where the Mace’s absence vitiated the passage of legislation. That would have formed triumph over substance!! Furthermore, there’s a citation from Sri Lanka that if the Mace was officially brought into the Chamber and later officially removed, all proceedings are legit. Isn’t that what happened here? Then, as the AG pointed out, the PNC can’t be allowed to profit from its own criminal action, can it? If this is permitted, we can kiss our democracy goodbye!!
The PNC can only approach the court with “clean hands”. Gwan da side!!
…and solar power
There’re some Guyanese beating up on the Government for trying to use the natural gas from our oil fields as a transition measure out of fossil fuel altogether, in a couple of decades. They insist that we plunge straight into solar power and other renewables. Now, it’s not that the Government is oblivious to solar power; in fact, it’s part of their energy mix going forward, and there’ve been any number of sites established, including the one at Mabaruma.
But it’s clear that some of these anti-gas activists aren’t keeping up with what’s happening on the solar front. There, to answer a recent editorial, “Why not solar energy”, the short answer is – after billions of dollars trying to move from small units to mega ones – “It’s the batteries, stupid!!” While there were great expectations that lithium batteries would handle the need of solar systems to store power for when there’s no or low sunlight, this is now seen as prohibitively expensive!
Mining lithium also destroys the environment!
…on Police shakeup
Your Eyewitness is pleased the new COP hit the ground running, to ensure the GPF fulfill its mission to “Serve and Protect” us.
But he gotta be careful of many merely saying, “Yes sir! Yes sir!”
