Missing the trees…

…for the forest
One of the problems with the older generation is they were exposed to a colonial education that gave them a frame of reference that’s literally and figuratively removed from their local reality. So having imbibed, say, Wordsworth’s “Ode to a Daffodil”, our luxuriant daisies scarce ever “with pleasure fills their hearts”. They can only think of daffodils, which they mightn’t even have ever seen nor touched!!
Your Eyewitness discerned the working of the colonialized mind when he read Henry Jeffrey’s latest column, “For Brigadier Mark Philips”. In Jeffrey’s case, having done his post-graduate studies in England, he presumably actually smelt daffodils!! Even his title evoked the 19th-century ambience of “odes”!! But in this case, Jeffrey was disputing a statement by the PPP’s PM Candidate Mark Phillips:
“The fiduciary oversight of our economy was strong under the PPP/C and Guyanese had a clear understanding of where this nation was headed and how they would benefit. This is the security that will cause all Guyanese of all ethnicities to embrace the PPP/C at the upcoming polls … as with this country’s commendable record for religious tolerance, if enough emphasis and resources are put towards a national programme for bridging the racial divide, this could be realised so that every person focuses on policies and not race at the next general elections in 2025.”
Rather than looking at our local and regional experiences to analyse Phillips’s claim, Jeffrey trotted out a paper presented by one Scott Orr to the 2007 meeting of the American Political Science Association: “The Theory and Practice of Ethnic Politics.” What Jeffrey concluded from Orr’s assertions – which were “refereed” and presumably to be taken as gospel!! – was that they completely debunked Phillips statement!!
According to Jeffrey, “Guyana is essentially a bi-communal society in which some 80% of the electorate consistently votes for one of the two large ethnic parties”. And after quoting 13 assumptions about such societies by Orr from his American presentation, concludes as the fourteenth and final point: “Power sharing becomes inevitable because of the logic of political cleavage in competitive democracies”!! Ain’t theory wonderful, when they can allow fellas like Jeffrey to conjure up such conclusive statements out of thin air??!! One wonders with America now also “bi-communal” (60% Whites vs 40%non-whites) why power-sharing isn’t touted there!!
Anyhow, a fella named Popper, who Jeffrey should be familiar with since he’s “foreign”, noted that even one black swan should disprove the assertion that “all swans are white”. So isn’t our “bi-communal” neighbour Trinidad doing OK politically without “power-sharing”??
And doesn’t our 20% ethnically non-reflexive voters suggest a swing-vote pool for “alternation of democratic governments”??
Gwan da side, Jeffrey!!

…Guyana’s profit oil
So Guyana’s first share of 1 million barrels of our oil is being shipped out today. Under normal circumstances, this would’ve been a banner day for Guyana but our circumstances are anything but normal, aren’t they?? We’ve got to hang our heads in shame because of the snickers from other oil producers after the contract that Raphael Trotman and the PNC Government signed!! For years and years, the world used to snicker at oil producers in African for the terrible deals they struck with oil companies. But today, they all now have Guyana to “wash their mouths on”!!
Ever since the end of WWII, we were educated to the fact that the IMF was a creature of the developed world and looked out for their interests. Burnham called them the “International Mother (bad word)!” when he ran into debt problems!! So imagine the irony when even the IMF had to tell this PNC Government they should’ve gotten a better deal.
But the big question of “why?” hasn’t been answered yet. It’ll be handcuffs time then!!

…for the votes
After Burnham’s abuses in 1968, the law allows proxy voting under very circumscribed circumstances: you gotta be working for GECOM!! The FPSO’s operators just requested their 300 odd Guyanese workers vote by proxy.
To allow or not to allow!!