As expected, the Opposition’s screaming on top of their lungs that the US-fingered gold smuggling is evidence of “corruption” in the GOVERNMENT of Guyana. Now, your Eyewitness is a big boy and he’s been around the block and then some!! So all he can say is he agrees with the grandaddy of philosophers who sighed and allowed that mankind was made “out of this crooked timber”!! So yes – as VP Jagdeo’s said on many occasions – there’s always the possibility of corruption in government’s business: they’re conducted by humans!!
So what has your Eyewitness concluded while we await the US “smoking gun” to conduct some gunpowder tests on the individuals fingered?? Now what do we do about the “crooked timber” folks who might’ve bribed government officials? He feels a law for lobbyists is long overdue, that’s what!! While we’ve been trying our darndest to imitate the great US of A in designing institutions to facilitate democracy, somehow we seemed to’ve missed their great contribution to dealing with human weaknesses pushed by self interest – regularising LOBBYING!!
They define “lobbying” as ANY attempt to influence government decision-making. Knowing that humans will always seek to have an advantage in furthering their interests, the Americans see “lobbying as an integral part of a modern participatory government and is legally protected.” Their right to lobby is protected by both the 1st Amendment (free speech) and the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 – and for good measure, by “the inherent need for participation in our democratic environment”. Each state has its own definition on lobbying.
For example, in California, “lobbyist” means: “ Any individual who receives US$2,000 or more in economic consideration in a calendar month, other than reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses, or whose principal duties as an employee are, to communicate directly or through his or her agents with any elective state official, agency official, or legislative official for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action.” See?
Even foreigners are allowed to lobby. During the 2020 elections – which the PNC tried to steal – both the PNC and PPP hired lobbyists to influence US lawmakers. We learnt that lobbyists don’t come cheap!! But the point is, there are laws to regulate an activity that everyone knew would take place – regardless!! It ain’t only about gold!!
The Americans have two statutes to regulate the disclosure of lobbying activity by foreigners: The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)1 and the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA). One analyst estimated that there were close to 100,000 lobbyists who earned in $9 billion annually. Wall Street spent a record $2 billion trying to influence the 2016 US Presidential election!!
Isn’t it time we get with the (lobbying) program to end “influence peddling”??
…from the Yanks?
Now when you think about it, we should be happy that the Yanks busted the alleged gold smuggling scam. But as your Eyewitness has said, there’s clearly more in the mortar in the pestle!! We now hear that there were investigations going on even before the present exposure. Seems that even the “established” companies with international registration have been in the act to do the dirty. There is one letter writer who’s willing to name names about a pilot in a major airline who was shipping out gold under the radar – so as to evade declaring profits that would’ve had top be shared with shareholders!!
But closer to the present timeline, we’re told when the APNU/AFC coalition came into office in 2015, the Yanks told them about an ongoing investigation into gold smuggling they dubbed “Operation Gold Digger”!! They claimed Granger, in turn – being the military man and all that – launched his own “Operation Nimble Mule”!!
Shouldn’t we be told what the Nimble Mule kicked up??
…of the birds
Back in the day, there was a sign near Big Market “The Birds is coming”! It was about a Hitchcock horror movie where birds suddenly started attacking and killing people.
Are those buzzards from Corentyne coming west??
