…on Caricom
At least it wasn’t only your humble Eyewitness who couldn’t believe what these Caricom leaders were carrying on about. He’s still fuming about one of them having the nerve to tell us Caribbean citizens we “should be thankful” to the organisation! As if it’s doing us a favour! Yesterday, Lincoln Lewis took the bull by the horns and called out the leaders of Caricom for acting as if they were having a gyaaf in a rum shop.
You know…by the time the “large” is down to the last quarter, the fellas around the table start complaining about the Government not doing this or doing that. Now that’s OK for fellas in a rum shop: it’s their taxes that’re paying the salaries of the said Government officials. But where do the leaders of Caricom get off to complain that “inactive organs” and “sluggish systems” have prevented Caricom from doing its job. To wit – improving our welfare!
What’s this crap about “inactive organs” – like the regional Attorney Generals – not meeting frequently enough to take care of legal hurdles facing the Region. Sounds to this Eyewitness, that just as fishes start smelling at the head – the most “inactive organ” of Caricom Governments has been their “heads”, where the rot began.
If the Attorney Generals aren’t meeting like they’re supposed to…pray tell who the heck they report to? Go to the head of the class, Dear Reader….the Heads of Government! As Lewis wrote, the leaders are elected to accomplish whatever they’re mandated to do…The buck stops with them. They can’t point to anyone else for the failures of Caricom.
Fundamentally, leaders just don’t want to cede some of the prerogatives they exercise as big fishes in their little ponds, to a Caricom governing body. They want to have their cake and eat it too. Take the comment of the Caricom Secretary General at the close of this meeting – that unless we go ahead with the “Common Single Economy” of the “Common Single Market and Economy” (CSME), we ain’t going anywhere.
Why does this have to be repeated forty odd (VERY odd!) years after Caricom was founded. Does anyone really believe that Guyana with its 700,000-man market can make it on its own in this globalised world? And what say the PMs of those little islands with less than 100,000 persons?
This Eyewitness has no delusions that this lot of leopards for leaders are changing their predatory ways much less their spots. The bureaucrats at the Caricom Secretariat don’t mind – they draw their big bucks, regardless. For Guyana, our continental destiny’s the way to go.
At least we’ll have bigger markets.
…about parking meters
The Gang of Four at City Hall’re expecting the storm over their parking meter money grab to blow over. So much for the AG’s rum shop gyaaf “examination”!! After all, so many of their previous pernicious predations have been commented on…outrage expressed and then….on to the next outrage. With years of experience under their (expanding) belts, the Gang of Four obviously have concluded most folks can only be outraged by one thing at a time.
Have you noted, Dear Readers, no one mentions the Vendors of Stabroek Market any longer? Even after the fella who owns the lot into which they were dumped said he ain’t extending no time of occupancy. We all moved onto the parking lot outrage!! And by this weekend, there will be another finger stuck into our eyes to ensure we don’t bring THAT up, no more. So once again, we salute Sherod Duncan for holding their feet to the fire.
But it’s like someone trying to hold back the tide, nuh?
…on NGSA
After a year at the helm, and one NGSA already under his belt, the Education Minister feels there’s too much “teaching to the test” for the NGSA. Where’s the institutional memory?
How many times are we gonna reinvent the wheel?
