…politics over?
Your Eyewitness has noticed that, once again, we have “Constitutional Reform” on the agenda. There’s a lot of people who believe that whatever ails our body politic will be solved by “constitutional reform”. At least they say they do, but your Eyewitness has his doubts about whether they have any idea about what that means. “Constitutional Reform” has become an incantation trotted out whenever some sh*t hits the fan – especially in the political realm.
Now, let’s break this thing down, shall we?? And start from first principles about this political “cure all”. One authority states: “A constitution is the rule book for a state. It sets out the fundamental principles by which the state is governed. It describes the main institutions of the state, and defines the relationship between these institutions (for example, between the executive, legislature and judiciary). It places limits on the exercise of power, and sets out the rights and duties of citizens.”
Now, let’s go back to some hoary past, but start from when we got independence from the Brits and they gave us a constitution. Burnham’s PNC government — installed by the Brits and the Yanks -– soon decided that we not only needed “constitutional change” – but a whole new constitution!! But it’s useful to look at how Burnham governed under the rules that were handed down by the Brits. One of the main institutions was the Guyana Elections Commission, which ran the elections that decided who’d govern the state.
And what Burnham did with the Elections Commission exposes the unrealism of those who run around crying “Constitutional Change!! Constitutional Change!!”. Burnham not only bought out the Chairman of the Commission, but changed the rules for compiling the electoral list. He introduced the National Register of Registrants – so his people who staffed this new institution could sign up underage youngsters from his constituency to vote him in!! He also introduced “overseas voting”, which was manipulated. As Burnham used to say with a self-satisfied smirk, “There are many ways to kill a cat”!! And before he died, he showed that there were all sorts of ways to gain power – with a constitution!!
So, what’s the point?? Simply that you can have all the rules you want to run the country – and compile them in a book of ten thousand pages – but if the folks running the institutions created ain’t got no moral commitment to do the right thing, then it all falls apart!! So, sure, we can change the constitution once again – Burnham created his new one in 1980, and this was “reformed” in 2000, and yet we now hear about “inclusive government”.
Which in Guyana is a code for losing politicians to get a piece of the action!!
…another quagmire??
If you think, dear reader, that what’s going on in the Mid-East ain’t something we should worry about, then – at a very mundane level – remember how the price of your bread went up after Russia invaded Ukraine!! Hit you where it hurts, didn’t it?? Well, the American and Brits’ attack on the Houthis of Yemen is gonna have consequences that’ll hurt the entire world. At a minimum, even if the conflict doesn’t spread wider, the battle-hardened Houthis, who’ve taken a pounding with similar bombardments from the Saudis for a decade, ain’t gonna fold up and return gently into the desert!!
No siree Bob!! This is gonna be a repetition of Afghanistan – where the Houthis have the advantage in owning and knowing the terrain, and the willingness to sacrifice their lives with their much less sophisticated weapons to take on – and take out – the West. Once again, we’re seeing folks who are driven by beliefs that’ll motivate them to fight by any means necessary.
Remember 9/11 and the box-cutters?
…the Budget debate
In a week, the debates on the TRILLION-DOLLAR Budget 2024 begins. The basic function of the debate, of course, is for the Opposition to show the nation they have better ideas than the Govt.
Not to “throw talk”!!
