Helping…or diverting?

Yesterday, your Eyewitness made a throwaway comment that if Sanction Man wants to burnish his claim to be “LOO in waiting” – as opposed to be “waiting for a LOO”! – then maybe he could help the Government in areas where he has some expertise. Like with gold smuggling, for instance!! And lo and behold!! – that’s how we express surprise Biblically!! – today your Eyewitness was totally gobsmacked when he read that Sanction Man had indeed stepped up to the crease to help identify the gold dealer who’s the alleged smuggler behind the large gold bust recently made in Bartica!!
But as he read the details of the story, your Eyewitness realised that Sanction Man thought he was slick. He used the occasion to throw shade (mud?) at one of his erstwhile competitors in the gold dealing business!! He didn’t “call name” but said slyly that the man is from Essequibo – the same place where his Daddy is from!! Now almost anyone who reads the newspaper knows who Sanction Man is talking about!! Guyana might be big in area but when it comes to people, we’re so small that we all know “matty” story!! Sanction Man and his Daddy had accused the “Essequibo Gold Dealer” (EGD) of finking to the Feds about their runnings – which led to their visas being yaNked and their businesses sanctioned by OFAC!!
Now, far be it for your Eyewitness to get involved between the hair-pulling of the gold magnates – but one of Sanction Man’s allegations bears closer examination: that EGD is getting paid for the gold he smuggles with cryptocurrency – which is untraceable!! Now whether EGD – or Sanction Man – is getting paid with cryptocurrency or not is not the issue – it’s the claim that cryptocurrency is “untraceable”!! If Sanction Man wants to be an effective LOO – which affects your Eyewitness’s interests! – then he gotta stop shooting from the hip!! That might’ve worked in the Wild West (in the US and our Venezuelan Border) but it ain’t gonna cut it in Parliament!!
Cryptocurrency is one of the “next big things” –along with AI – in the fourth industrial revolution we have been plunged into, so leaders should know a thing or two about it!! Cryptocurrencies are pseudonymous, not anonymous – and all transactions are public, traceable, and permanently stored in the Bitcoin network!! While one may adopt different pseudonyms for different “wallets” in which the cryptocurrency is stored in “blockchains”!! , the permanent and public nature of the blockchain ledger creates an undeniable trail, making it a powerful tool for law enforcement to track and seize illicit funds!!
It ain’t easy – but it is available and is foolproof!! It won’t surprise your Eyewitness that Sanction Man’s ledgers will be revealed – after he’s extradited to Florida!!

…the Christmas Cheer!!
Never let it be said your Eyewitness doesn’t have a sense of fun!! It’s just that he likes to keep it within bounds – and not inflict auditory pain on his neighbours!! Last night he ambled over – with his family – to the Christmas Village on Main Street – and what a pleasant surprise and good fun it was!! It had been billed as “One Guyana Christmas Village and Supermarket” – because Pressie took the opportunity to have our local products showcased in what’s gonna become a staple on our tourism calendar!!
But while your Eyewitness did see the GMC stall – and even accepted a sample bottle of “swank” – that wasn’t what made the outing memorable. It was the friendliness and bonhomie of the Guyanese people – from all walks of life and ages – good naturedly not only rubbing shoulders as they traversed the crowded lighted Main Street canopy – but actually being polite enough not to get into photographs being snapped!!
One Guyana in action!! Bravo!!

…from the top
Talking about auditory pain, your Eyewitness gotta point out that State House – where Pressie hangs his hat with his young family – is smack in the middle of the Christmas Village. Meaning he’s willing to share in the good-natured hubbub of a Guyanese Christmas!!