…fight roiling the PNC
Your Eyewitness has been trying his best to keep you, dear readers, up to date with the goings-on in the PNC. They’ve been very quiet on the whole – but that’s when you gotta worry! As you’ve been informed in this space, there’s some vicious infighting going on to pip Granger as leader. God forbid that one of the “Wild Men” – as Corbin once described the type – takes over! It could get even nastier than the post “slow fyaah, mo’ fyaah” era.
Well, one of the latest entrants in a now very crowded field is Dr. Richard Alexander Van West-Charles. Yep, that’s right…the same fella who’s been mired in controversy in GWI ever since he was appointed as CEO by Granger back in 2015. Seems that supplying water in the land of many waters wasn’t enough to keep him busy. He received a licence to import chicken in partnership with a fella named Goring – a twice-convicted man. But what made the connection even more incestuous and venal was he’d created a special position at GWI for the fella – from which he was soon fired by the Board!!
But he and Goring were also Directors of Atlantic Fuels Inc – an entity which was also issued with a fuel licence by the PNC. And soon got into all sorts of hot water with their dodgy schemes. All lucrative, however, to Van West! The man has a long heritage of being taken care of! He’d married, Roxanne (of the Roxanne Gardens fame) – the older daughter from Burnham’s first marriage – and was sent to Cuba to study medicine. Just year after he returned in 1980, he was catapulted over dozens of party stalwarts and made Minister of Health!!
He was dubbed “Baby Jesus”. An allusion, of course, to Burnham, who acted as if he were GOD, and to the son of the Haitian dictator Papa Doc Duvalier – dubbed “Baby Doc”! After Burnham died precipitately, Van West didn’t get to succeed like Baby Doc did, and soon departed the jurisdiction for a cushy, nominated PAHO job. He returned in 2009, after 19 years at PAHO, to bid for leadership in the PNC against Corbin. But was soundly trounced, just like “Team Alexander” had been earlier.
When he couldn’t make side in the rigged 2011 PNC leadership elections, he tried to brand himself as a “moderate”, and flirted with the AFC. With the new 2015 PNC Government’s “jobs for the boys” policy, Van West was made CEO of GWI – even though he and Granger’s “Conkey” didn’t match!! Granger, after all, had vowed to fulfill Burnham’s legacy.
So it was deja vu all over again, since Van West had absolutely no experience for the job!
…of Gay Rights’ support
This is ‘Gay Pride Month’, dedicated to celebrating the LGBTQ community and their struggle against discrimination and social ostracism. And let’s not pretend that this isn’t unfortunately still the norm in Guyana. Imagine, this discriminatory attitude is still buttressed publicly by some church bodies, who cite biblical references analogous to the ones that justified slavery for hundreds of years!! This confounded nonsense must stop!!
Gay Pride Month started in 1969, when riots broke out at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, where gays would gather to imbibe drinks they’d brought – since the joint didn’t have a liquor licence. But the Police would still raid and harass the patrons, who weren’t disturbing anyone. After one lesbian was beaten by the Police, all hell broke loose. For the first time, gays showed they wouldn’t be treated like vermin for just displaying their love.
The following year there were marches in NYC, and by 2000, when President Clinton declared Gay Pride Month, the commemoration had spread to cities across the world.
…of caring for the poor
President Irfaan Ali is demonstrating that his administration places the concerns of ordinary persons at the very top of its agenda.
Has anyone seen any other President ground with the beleaguered people as he’s done?
