…elections?
With all the “outreaches” the Cabinet that’s not a “Cabinet” (we’re assured!) has been making to all parts of our far-flung land, you’d have to be Forrest Gump not to know election’s in the air!! As far back as February, the PNC Government – let’s not beat around the bush about names, all right? – had announced its “Ministerial outreaches” where they’d “bring government to the people”. Yeah, right!! $300 million was budgeted for these “outreaches”. It was on one of these that Finance Minister Jordan declared “war break!!” and Nagamootoo allowed he’d donned his olive battle fatigues!!
By June, however, Public Security Minister Ramjattan fessed up: “We had started our campaign in a sense. We were outreaching in all the areas, even having Cabinet in different areas, having lots of meetings on the weekends especially and carrying our Government projects and programmes for the people to see it themselves and promoting our accomplishments. And that is what part of the campaigning was all about during that time, because there was always this 50-50 chance that we’re gonna lose it and indeed, we lost it”.
Anyhow, matters took a more confessional turn on the Govt’s campaign trail when Minister Garrido-Lowe announced on her “outreach” to the furthermost eastern point of Guyana – the town of Corriverton – that “President Granger said that elections will be this year!!” Well, well, well!! Mout’ open and story jump out!! The Opposition’s been calling on Granger to proclaim a date for the elections since the beginning of the year, after the NCM was passed. Ditto for the CCJ after all his excuses were thrown out! But “No can do!!” was Granger’s response – up to this day.
Sanctimoniously and demurely, he insisted it’s the task of GECOM to tell him when they can be ready – and only THEN he can set a date!! GECOM’s an “autonomous” constitutional body, and he’d never dare to interfere with their work!! So much for the 3-month command of the Constitution following a NCM! So how is it that Garrido-Lowe can now blithely announce that the President said elections will be held this year?? Has he been so advised by GECOM? We know for a fact that after the one meeting the new Chair held with all the Commissioners, no date was proffered. So where did Granger pluck this date from??
Isn’t he now interfering with the “autonomy” of GECOM? Isn’t he giving a very clear signal that the new Chair dare not rule (it’ll come down to her casting vote) for Sept 18? But that’s the PNC for you, isn’t it?
Yet Lowe trotted out what’ll be the PNC campaign “Granger is a leader of integrity!” Some integrity!!
…on Venezuela??
Russia’s one of Maduro’s closest allies as his country careens out of control. But he clings to power through the support of the armed forces, which he’s rewarded handsomely by handing over large swathes of the economy to them. Now we all know that our case to dismiss the controversy precipitated when Venezuela decided to do a volte face and renounce the Arbitral Award of 1899 that settled our western border, is coming up at the World Court. We’ve made our submissions, while Venezuela declined to do so.
So when a spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry insisted that the UK was, “completing the construction of a military base on one of the islands at the mouth of the Essequibo River under a plausible pretext – supposedly to stop the smuggling of weapons and drugs,” we should sit up and take notice. The Russians said the base was to train “sabotage groups to be dispatched to Venezuelan territory”.
A misdirection ruse?
…in an elevator
How many persons does it take to run an elevator? In the case of the elevators at Peters Hall, at either end of the crossover, the MoPI says “five”. Not that Guyanese mightn’t know how to press the button, but because there might be vandalism.
Wouldn’t concealed cameras be more efficient??
