Home Letters It is better to part company as foes in order to remain...
Dear Editor,
Hear this one: the meeting by GECOM was postponed from yesterday to today. But isn’t this stale news? And stale news is no news. Ask Uncle Glen and Uncle Ravi, they will tell you it’s true that true story is not a lie. We all knew that since the day before yesterday! It goes without saying, just like not saying the word “valid”.
Hear this one again: “The government–aligned Commissioners requested time to “study” the ruling handed down by the CCJ. What? You’re kidding, right? The ruling is written and spelt out in plain and simple words for even the smallest child to understand, so that he or she wouldn’t need the help of the dictionary. It is as clear as crystal (and sweet as black water, ask the cane cutter in the field). But, oh, dear me, dear me, so forgetful like Mr. “G,” the darn thing is written in English Language. That’s a language those guys do not, cannot, and will not understand, read or write!
Next time, please CCJ, please verbalise, orate, dictate, complete, compile, compose, scribe, scrawl, scribble, correspond and communicate in a less highfalutin language, such as Latin. Most of them are QC boys and…counsels…the language of the distinguished legal luminaries…!
For sure, they will grasp faster and get the message quicker. There will be no ambiguity, but instead transparency. Damn if you do, damn if you don’t! Maybe there is always the outside chance (like horse racing), that there is a serious problem in understanding the meaning of a decision.
Reading and comprehension was also not a favourite subject for a couple of the judges from the COA. Just ask the CCJ. Since APNU/AFC always suffered from this limitation also (33 is greater than 32), then the gross uncertainty of tripping on words will remain a nightmare and a reality.
Reading between the lines is foreign, and anything foreign is negative (except the law boys). Perhaps what was meant was “interpret,” so that they can interrupt and invalidate as insipid intruders on an invasion. But when all is said and done, it is a fishing expedition, hook, line and sinker. It is past bedtime, and fishing is a pastime for old men, in the backdam where it is safer than at sea, it’s too dangerous.
But they just wouldn’t give up, would they? They are good cooks…cooking up the books… watch what they will cook up today……not dhal and rice and fry fish for sure! Ole people say, “What dew can’t full rain can’t full.” Guyana’s election was never a priority. It is not, and will never be, for the APNU/AFC Party. The CCJ dismissed this abomination in less than an hour, and it was aired and its decision was available to the public shortly afterwards. All stakeholders would have been anxious and eager to ensure that they get hold of a copy of the written report ASAP! Time is of the greatest essence to the nation; but, of course, not to the APNU/AFC. It is a time to “lime” and waste time. They are experts at wasting time, and 130 days that have elapsed and counting make that almost 2 squatting years.
The CCJ has massacred the COA umpteen times; so, PNC, don’t ever attempt to seek redress again there. Forget Basy, Troty, Harmy, Blondy, Aubry, Shery and me buys dem! Your safest bet for interpretation is the legal Sirs Guyana has, but unfortunately, they are also residing in “foreign” lands, so they may be viewed as “interference instead of reference.” Of, how forgetful, you cussed them out too, under your breath!
How much time do you want to buy? For how long? From whom? At what cost? Why do you want it? And when will you give it up?
But, “so the story goes,” so said Uncle Dave, we, the peace-loving people of our dearly beloved country Guyana, have managed to jump one more hurdle blocked by the APNU/AFC Party, and can now cross the Essequibo/Berbice/Demerara Bridge leading to GECOM in Georgetown.
This city is the capital, where all the collusion is centred to corrupt the citizens by a cabal of callous criminals for almost a century. (Time for an atmosphere of some fresh air to clear the stigma of this nauseous odour and relocate to a new, healthier environment with the foundation of decency and honesty and peace and love as its ambience. There will be no blocking of streets and traffic jam, think about it).
But the CCJ has cleared all the debris, purchased the toll ticket, given the green light, and raised the bar so that we can travel safely to the other end of the bridge, where freedom is awaiting our arrival but is still held in the tight fists of GECOM. The CCJ has audited the accounts and found that they were legally appointed by Guyana, but the COA has no jurisdiction and is not fit and proppa to decide on this type of matter and that they cannot put words in the mouth of GECOM.
The constitution said what it meant and meant what it said. They also found that the CEO fiddled with the accounts by concealing 115,000 valid votes, and he needs to resubmit his report according to the inventory statement examined and approved by CARICOM, one that was always in conjunction with the Madam Chair. The CEO applied ancient math for the old generation, but he now has to resort to modern math for the new generation and retrieve from the automatic save mode what he so mischievously deleted from the spreadsheet (chador?). This is the era of computer; information does not disappear like the SOPs and other documents.
The CCJ has said what it said, and who vex vex. Ole people say, “Don’t cut yu nose fo spoil yu face!” “That nonsense they tried ain’t gun happen again, for is we, the CCJ, ain’t going nowhere. We’re here to stay, like it, shove it or lump it. Anyway, your company is not worth having.
So, brother man, I staying; you can go. But remember, the road is long, narrow, dark, bumpy and lonesome, so yu can try deh.” Uncle Ralphie is on board, things can change for the better. There is the famous saying that comes to the mind, “Show me your company and I’ll tell you who you are!” It is better to part company as foes in order to remain company as allies, than to part as friends and remain as enemies.
The game is not over until the last ball has been bowled. We are far from this point; we have just begun the 2nd innings, and APNU/AFC is batting with GECOM as the umpire. Mr. “G” unmasked himself, much to the detriment of the unfortunate bystanders on Wednesday afternoon. No wonder the death toll keeps rising for COVID-19. People just wouldn’t listen and learn.
But then, when you have the de facto setting the perfect bad example, what do you expect the mass to do?
Luckily, only a handful wants to play the game of “follow the leader” much longer. He made it pellucidly clear, they do not intend to give up, and now the matter has been referred back to GECOM. But that is exactly where it has been all the time. What goes around comes around. You hit the tennis ball; hop, skip and jump from one court to another court, the ball is smacked back to you.
You play it over and over the net, until one of the players misses or hits it over the line and the point is either won or lost!
What part of this game don’t you understand Mr. “G”? You cannot make up the rules to suit yourself as the game goes along. There comes a point when the spectators will become fed up with you and even the umpire’s back will be against the wall, left with no other choices except only one choice i.e. to call you out! How will GECOM’s meeting go today is anyone’s guess. More hot air and shooting from the lip instead of the hip? A different hansy-pansy game?
The law boys have been burning the midnight oil, but the Madam Chair is very relaxed, well rested from a good night’s sleep, and simply waiting for the bouncer, yorker or googly. You’re bowling to a stalwart with years of perfect experience, there is nothing that you can deliver that she hasn’t seen, heard or played to before. She is as sharp and alert as ever. You cannot surprise, deceive or conceal the “element of surprise” on her.
Otis Redding sang a beautiful song, “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.” Good luck to all of us as Guyana sits by the seawall, watching the ship coming home slowly but surely, sailing with the tide churned by APNU/AFC!
Respectfully,
Jai Lall
