New…

…Corruption watchman
Your Eyewitness is reeling from the irony that we got a new anti-corruption specialist – one who’s clearly worried sick that somebody else might get the opportunity to do what he’s doing for years and years!! The LOO Sanction Man just sounded the alarm over the soon-to-be-launched Guyana Development Bank – which he insists is gonna become a playground for corruption, cronyism, and political favouritism!! Well, thank goodness SOMEBODY finally understands the danger!!
And since the danger’s being flagged by a fella who has been positively wallowing in corruption, you’d think he’s an authority on the subject, wouldn’t you?? This is a man who’s been sanctioned by the US Treasury – under its Global Magnitsky sanctions programme – over involvement in an international corruption network that, unfortunately for him, involved Miami and US jurisdiction!! And based on their history, those chaps at OFAC don’t bring charges till they get an open-and-shut case, do they?? Case in point is one of Mad Maduro’s besties and partners in crime – Alex Saab – just pleaded guilty to an OFAC charge!!
Then right here in our dear Mudland, the GRA also brought tax charges against Sanction Man and his Daady – charges that are in hiatus following the Government’s decision to give the US first dibs at fitting out that orange jumpsuit!! And if that weren’t enough to give him a graduate degree in corruption, last January, the GRA announced action concerning an AML/CFT breach involving Sanction Man and GRA employees. And your Eyewitness ain’t even gonna expand on the cases of the duty-skipped Lambos and Ferraris!!
So yes… Here’s the man, standing sentinel over the Guyana Development Bank, warning the nation about corruption!! It’s a little like the fella who’s been nabbed speeding time and again – establishing a National Road Safety Commission!! Now this doesn’t mean Sanction Man mightn’t have a point!! But it’s just that our politics has a penchant for producing people who discover corruption and thiefin’ only after they’ve crossed THOSE roads – and found somebody else sitting in the driver’s seat!!
So yes… Let’s protect the Development Bank from the entire Guyanese culture of “leh we see wha’ we can arrange!!” Because once billions become available at favourable terms, you know every Guyanese gonna try to follow Sanction Man’s footsteps by claiming he’s an entrepreneur; his neighbour’s got a brilliant business plan, and his cousin knows a man who knows a man!! After all, look where it got the man who just discovered that corruption is a national emergency!!!
But seriously, folks?? Don’t assume this is the PPP Government’s first rodeo – and they ain’t addressing it!! They’ve candidly admitted that once money’s floating around, there’s gonna be sticky fingers!!
As Sanction Man can testify!!

…greed
One fella insists that now that we’re getting a windfall from higher oil prices due to the goings-on in the Middle East – not to mention finally getting out from under Exxon’s 75 per cent expense deduction to calculate “profits” – we should double up on this year’s cash grant since we hadn’t budgeted for so much money!! And this is where your Eyewitness got a problem with encouraging the “gimme mo, gimme mo” mentality that’s sweeping our nation!!
OK… more money came into the treasury – but have we forgotten that story about the ant and the grasshopper we learnt as kids?? For months on end, the ant worked and saved food for the winter – while the grasshopper spent his days singing, playing his fiddle, and dancing – mocking the ant for working so hard instead of enjoying life!!
Came winter, and the starving grasshopper gotta beg the ant for some food!! So WE should all spend the oil windfall today – and not tell the Government to use it to build a better tomorrow??

…abdication
The Opposition whines that the Govt ain’t “involving” them – yet they’ve boycotted the Parliamentary Committees meetings where they could’ve quizzed Pressie on his policies!!
To them “inclusive Govt” ain’t with committees – but only getting seats in the Cabinet!!