…and produced some law books
Back in primary school, your Eyewitness heard the Aesop Tale about “The Mountain in Labour” who then produced a measly mouse! The tale goes way back to the beginning of the species boastful politicianicus! One hoary version by Phaedrus went this way: ‘A mountain had gone into labour and was groaning terribly. Such rumours excited great expectations all over the country. In the end, however, the mountain gave birth to a mouse.’
In the modern version, politicians who are quite mountainous shower people with glossy manifestos promising the moon and stars but finally deliver – at the very best – flambeau lamps!! Shall we mention some doozies of mountains that produced mice? Constitutional reform? Long-term economic development programme? Public Procurement Commission? PPP members to join the Cabinet? PM to share more executive powers? Strengthening the Ethnic Relations Commission? Witness Protection Programme? Enough squeaking mice running underfoot???!!! OK!!
And now for the mountain/mouse du jour – the Law Books Seizure. Now, here it is, for years, all we heard about was BILLIONS AND BILLIONS “siphoned off” from the treasury by those dastardly PPP types and we’d all be living the “good life” when those assets were recovered!! So, the Government went all out and launched a State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) – and belatedly, even passed the necessary legislation!!! (better late than never??) as an expectant citizenry waited for the State Assets to be “repatriated” and our depleted coffers to overflow.
And what happens as soon after the Bill’s passed? The Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) springs into action and orders ex-Attorney General Anil Nandlall to cough up some law books the State had paid for when he was the AG!! The books were worth $2 million or so!! Now your Eyewitness has heard about “one, one dutty build dam” and expects the analogous “one, one dollar” must also hold. But this is ridiculous!!
First of all, it wasn’t even SARA that tried to repatriate the State assets – but SOCU!! Did Nandlall use “organised crime” elements to purloin the law books? Was SOCU used because the 79-year-old Thomas who heads SARA is incapable of “springing” into action – or “springing”, period?? But your Eyewitness is happy SOCU didn’t engage in any high-speed chase to recover the law books before Nandlall was able to sell them off in the hot market for legal reading matter!
So, back to the agonising labour of the Government on recovering State assets. Is this the best they can do?? Law books?? Sheesh!
From where your Eyewitness stands, it looks awfully like another petty ploy by AG Williams to get even with his bête noir!!
…on sexual harassment
Right off the bat, your Eyewitness is pleased with Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally’s obligatory statement on “Sexual Assault Awareness Week”, with the theme “Engaging New Voices to End Sexual Violence”. Last year, around the same time, on behalf of the PNC, Ally issued a stout defence of her colleague Volda Lawrence for supporting a PNC Local Government candidate, whose sister accused him of child molestation. Volda Lawrence was then occupying Ally’s portfolio of social protection!!
However, your Eyewitness read Ally’s statement on “engaging new voices” twice to find out if she included LGBT victims of sexual violence. Now while she railed against “women and children” being violated – and some of these might be “gay” – why didn’t Ally mention male victims of sexual assault? They don’t exist? Would that’ve mean the Government was acknowledging LGBT as persons who had a right not to expect violence??
In case she forgot, a year and a half ago, a young man was gang raped for days at Vreed-en-Hoop.
Gays are people too. And owed protection.
…on investment courting
Prezzie’s gone a courting investors in Europe. So he doesn’t come back empty-handed, can his PM brief him on his expensive courting in New York (Harvard Club) and Toronto (Riverstoen Golf Club)??
