Looking ahead… at running GT

Say what you will… But you can’t say the PPP ain’t bold!! At least the PPP of President Mohamed Irfan Ali!! After announcing – while he was declaring the 4-lane Aubrey Barker Highway linking South GT to the Ogle Motorway – that his Government was taking over some FIFTY-SEVEN major GT streets, he explained where he was going. Taking his cue from another Muhammed Ali – who used to fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee and win all his bouts!! – He announced alliteratively, “…we’re not playing politics with potholes; we’re not campaigning with congestion. We’re not grandstanding with gridlock – we are governing!! And governance requires responsibility!!”
Now how about them apples!! The man was expressing the most fundamental law of governance – whether of a business or of a country: Your span of responsibility MUST match your span of authority!! You can’t be held responsible for the functioning of something if you don’t have the authority to fix that something – when something ain’t going right, can you??!! But the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) and the entire Opposition – who consider themselves to have a transport over the citizens of our not-so-fair capital – keep on blaming the PPP Govt at the centre for whatever ails THEIR city at any time – even though the latter doesn’t have the AUTHORITY to take care of the capital!!
The Central Govt is named “CENTRAL” – because it has its constitutionally defined tasks to perform on behalf of the people of the ENTIRE country!! And similarly, the M&CC are named as such because they have their constitutionally defined tasks to perform on behalf of the residents of the MUNICIPALITY of Georgetown!! They’re each elected by their constituencies to do their jobs – and both collect SEPARATE taxes to pay for doing it!! So, it’s now clear that Pressie has had it up to his throat with all the blame thrown his way!!
Taking control of the major streets – by pointing out they’re PUBLIC thoroughfares – is his opening salvo in showing the GTers how a basic service like keeping the city clean can be done!! But Pressie went further this time: he’s so convinced that the GTers themselves must be fed up with all the BS of the Opposition-controlled M&CC that he announced that he feels the PPP can win enough seats on the latter body in the upcoming municipal elections to control it – and FINALLY have authority over the entire city!! He figures that since the Opposition-controlled M&CC thinks he’s got the responsibility for the city – he might as well take the authority!!
Now this sounds eminently sensible – not to mention doable on account of the split Opposition and Pressie’s indefatigable political style!!
Like that other Ali, innit??

…at China
Lots of folks think the Chinks have the Yanks on the run on the economic front because of their successes in that area!! But your Eyewitness is old enough to remember in the 70s and 80s, then there was that same fear: the Japs would pip them!! First, it was their cars that did the unthinkable – pip the giant Detroit auto giants!! Then came all the cool, futuristic Japanese gadgets that everyone wanted: the Walkman, compact discs, the VHS, home video game consoles – even the first viable laptop computer, the Toshiba T1100!
Americans began to worry that the Japanese were more disciplined and dedicated to world economic and technological domination and that Americans themselves had become layabout fat cats who could no longer compete with zaibatsu corporate ninjas. Sounds familiar – if you substitute Chinese products, doesn’t it?? But the Japs faltered and faded – and history may just repeat itself!!
It’s now a FINANCED world – and the Yanks have its institutions – like THE reserve currency – locked off!!

…at deportees
We received 12 deportees a couple of days ago!! Now when Pres Trump announced his push in this area, we calculated THOUSANDS were due!!
Two were “criminals” – any pattern on the other 10??