The government is elected to use the resources of the state to develop the country for the benefit of the people. All the people – not just those who might’ve voted for them. One of the top priorities is the building of infrastructure – without which there can be no development. If the Dutch hadn’t insisted that every plantation upkeep the “Public Road” in front of their fields we’d still be the “Wild Coast”!! Infrastructure is what brings us into civilization from the life – and morality – of the jungle
Think of it…without the railroads from the eastern seaboard across the heartland and into California, would the US be where they are today?? Can you imagine how useful were our railroads – the first in the entire South America from the 19th century!! – to move people and goods across our coast?? They, of course, were scrapped by that developmental genius Hamilton Green back in 1974!! Guess he figured they weren’t necessary to ferry troops across the country to intimidate the populace. The GDF did pretty good with their trucks to move those ballot boxes after shooting the defenders of democracy in 1971!! And think of how much better off we woulda been if the Brits had gone ahead and built that railroad from Georgetown to Lethem around the turn of the 20th century!!
But whenever infrastructure like roads, dams, bridges etc are built in inhabited areas people will be affected in one way or another…it’s inevitable. Anybody remember when the Americans rebuilt the West Coast Public Road for their newly-installed PNC government, how many families were displaced when they decided to get rid all those right-angle bends at Stewartville and elsewhere?? More recently, when the PPP decided to build the Berbice Bridge wasn’t it necessary to move several families – many with shops etc?? In fact it was Moses Nagamootoo who got the contract to move them to other areas.
In every case governments use the legal principle of “eminent domain” which means essentially that once the purpose serves the public’s interest and folks are fairly compensated, it’s OK. Obviously, the lives of the folks who gotta be relocated would be disrupted…and this ought to be taken into consideration when compensation is made to make it OK for THEM. But eventually, the “greater good” must take precedence. And this brings us to the Mocha fiasco while noting that simultaneously, another development project – the gas to shore and power generation project – demands that some farmers’ lands be expropriated. Some are objecting to the monies offered. Fair enough.
But unlike Mocha, we suspect that the Opposition politicians wouldn’t be showing up anytime soon to advise them not to move.
One wonders what’s the difference!! Ouch!!
…at Hakeem
It’s interesting to your Eyewitness that he can use the name “Hakeem” and you, dear readers, immediately know who he’s talking about!! Man on man!! Is NYC region 11 or what?? Anyhow in the interminable voting to elect their new Speaker, the Democratic Majority Leader displayed a verbal dexterity explaining why he’s such a big fan of the rapper Notorious BIG.
On several occasions, he’d surprised his usually staid colleagues by praising Biggie, who hailed from his Brooklyn district!! On the 20th anniversary of the rapper’s murder, he’d even rapped from his 1994 hit single, “Juicy,”!! “It was all a dream/ I used to read Word Up magazine/ Salt’n’Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine/ Hangin’ pictures on my wall/ Every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl.” As late as 2020 in the Trump impeachment hearing, he quoted, “if you don’t know, now you know.”
So it’s against that background we can appreciate his alliterative “Alphabet Speech” in handing over the gavel to McCarthy.
…at the alphabet
From “A, B C”- “American values over autocracy. Benevolence over bigotry. The Constitution over the cult. Democracy over demagogues” to “X,Y,Z” – Xenia over xenophobia. Yes, we can, over you can’t do it, and zealous representation over zero sum confrontation.”
