…handouts
After Pres Ali announced that his government would be making a cash grant of some $200,000 to every Guyanese “household” – and everyone (read voters!!) went into a tizzy of excitement – the Opposition raised all kinda objections. Their main one was expected: the PPP would favour their own – read “Indian Guyanese” – and ignore Opposition supporters – read African/Mixed Guyanese!!
Then, even though the Opposition WPA had proposed, six years ago, giving “households” $1 million annually, they (and some others) felt the definition of a “household” was too fuzzy and fluid — and would lead to all sorts of confusion and “swell mouth”, Just like it did with that cash handout during the Covid epidemic, when some individuals claiming “householder” status were given “pink slips”, which they claimed were never honoured!! Clearly, in the last 6 years, the WPA brain trust hadn’t figured out how to solve the household uncertainty principle!!
Now, never let it be said that the PPP government doesn’t listen!! A couple of days after making the $200,000 cash handout announcement, the President said he’d taken note of the uncertainty objection and would now be doling out $100,000 to every ADULT – meaning those over 18 years old!! No ambiguity there: just produce a National ID Card or a Passport and the $100,000 would be plunked into waiting hands!! All Guyanese are supposed to register at 14 years old, and so this shouldn’t present a challenge.
But this doesn’t mean the Opposition would quit with their kvetching, even though this might just solve one of their broader complaints. To wit, that Guyanese aren’t clear about how many of us live adult citizens who can vote are actually IN the country.
This exercise with the $100,000 handout would certainly bring out this demographic and clear up that objection!! But that in itself creates another headache for the Opposition, innit?? Folks getting – as they see it – $100 grand from one of the parties in the electoral sweepstakes would, at a minimum, look at that party a little kindlier!!
Yes, the Opposition has that promise to give out $1 million annually, but a handout in the hand is always worth more than two being promised manana, no?!!
Anyhow, your Eyewitness has noticed an upsurge in the favourable comments of youths on social media platforms towards the Government. In the “household” proposal, the money would’ve gone to their parents, and they wouldn’t have seen a penny. Now, here, they’ll be getting $100,000 to have and to hold; and, more importantly, to spend all on their own!! How sweet it is!! This is a demographic that ain’t fixed in their loyalties like their parents, and they’re easier swayed.
The Govt should thank the Opposition for opposing the “householder” proposal!!
…oil delivery?
Your Eyewitness is quite intrigued by what appears to be oil percolating through the tile floors of some residents in the village of Crane, WCD. Where’s the oil coming from?? Your Eyewitness remembers, some years ago, folks in the Canje area reporting oil oozing from the ground, but it was determined not to be in quantities justifying commercial exploitation. Could there be oil reserves under Crane??
Fingers are being pointed at Exxon and their consortium, who’re drilling and pumping hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil daily more than a hundred miles out into the Atlantic. Your Eyewitness ain’t no geologist or oil driller, but he doesn’t see how, even under the pressure of the water and gases pumped into the wells to bring up more oil…some of it could seep to shore. Unlike what some may believe, the oil ain’t sloshing around in underground rivers down there!!
The last suspect is the pipeline to bring gas ashore nearby. But that ain’t operational right now!!
…population numbers
In Guyana, it is said that our elections are pretty much ethnic censuses!! So maybe we can understand why the Bureau is ultra careful in releasing the decennial census from 2022. They don’t want to pre-empt the 2025 elections?
