…a dictatorship
It’s said the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Well, if that’s so the road to a dictatorship, on the other hand, is paved with official actions that place power over the people in the hands of individuals and not institutions. Or like Burnham did – create institutions that are one and the same as self-selected men. Did anyone ever think Burnham intended the powers authorised by his 1980 Constitution were to be exercised by his political opponents?
The Constitution was just a fig leaf to hide the dirty big secret of the existential dictatorship embodied by Burnham. And we come to the powers of the SARA Bill now being conferred on the SARA Head, Clive Thomas. Which was recently staunchly defended in the press by fellow adviser in the Ministry of the Presidency, Tacuma Ogunse. Purely by serendipity or coincidence, Ogunseye and Thomas are also Executive Members of WPA and members of ACDA!
Now, what could these powers be that they elicited concerns from the Guyana Human Rights Association, Transparency International, the Bar Association etc that can’t be accused of being alarmists, or in bed with the big, bad Opposition? First of all, you have the fact that it’s not SARA the Agency that’s a corporation – but the Director Thomas!! The man is a corporate sole of an Agency that has no soul!
Imagine Thomas can demand any information from the Director of Public Prosecutions, Commissioner of Police, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit, Head of the Special Organised Crime Unit, Chairman of the Integrity Commission, Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Governor of the Bank of Guyana, Head of CANU, Chairman of the Gold Board and Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration! And this is so even though some of these agencies are constitutionally forbidden from sharing info excepting in specified cases. Now, Thomas will be doing the “specifying”.
Thomas will also decide which of the cases he’ll prosecute through the DPP. In this he has been empowered to act as if he’s the Police! But in any case, he can explicitly demand from their respective heads – Police powers, immigration officer powers, customs officer powers and revenue officer powers!! Why would anyone with the slightest knowledge of Guyana’s previous PNC regime give any one man such sweeping powers? Even if there were some assets filched – which both Jagdeo and Ramotar concede must’ve happened – isn’t the SARA Bill like using a hammer to kill a mosquito on Guyanese heads?
Even Burnham didn’t have these powers – yet Rodney called him “King Kong”.
What say Thomas, who with, Ogunseye echoed Rodney with clenched fists thrust into the air??!!
…City Hall
City Hall’s flailing around frenetically trying to work out something to save the Parking Meter Contract with some “amendments”. But that’s like putting lipstick on a pig! Folks are also wondering why the PNC isn’t saying anything about the matter – that’s fast developing tsunami like features. Well, the City Hall Gang of Four are all PNC – two in the Executive for that matter. One possibility that must be considered is there are others higher up the PNC food chain who’re also neck deep in whatever graft it took to sign away the Georgetown to this bunch of grifters.
These fellas from Smart City may not be up to the level of Meyer Lansky who ran Havana on behalf of the mob before Castro kicked them out. But they’re both convicted criminals who served prison time in bright orange jumpsuits and would’ve made some serious contacts behind bars
The PNC types are worried not to save their faces but their necks!!
…Presidential collision
AG Basil Williams, SC claims the CJRC can’t challenge President Granger’s revocation of the Red House lease. Article 182 places a President above civil suits.
But since President Ramotar ISSUED the lease, shouldn’t the court decide where Granger gets the power to revoke the act of another President?
