…with Local Government?
It’s like the mountain laboured and produced a mouse. Your Eyewitness’s talking about Local Government, which he’d been told was his birthright that was denied him by the dastardly PPP for decades. After Local Government Elections had ensconced local folks into their local offices, all problems of governance would vanish as the local officials would solve the local problems they themselves faced. All politics is local, nuh?
Well, it very well might be – but you couldn’t tell from the same ole, same ole going on across the country. Is the theory of local involvement cockeyed? Or are there other factors at play? Well, we were told (by your Eyewitness!), our grassroots operatives would need a heck of a lot of training. Can the majority even conduct a discussion without coming to blows or a cuss-out? Well, it’s not their fault – training WAS promised to them….and someone’s holding out.
Then there’s the not inconsequential matter of money. Yes…the filthy lucre that unfortunately makes the world go ‘round. It greases the wheels…and more importantly, greases palms. Weren’t the local officials now authorised to raise funds for their local activities? But circularly we return to the epistemological question: do the locals know how to go about this? Well, in Georgetown, the question’s being tested for real.
Georgetown always knew about raising funds from “rates and taxes”. Their problem, however, was always “who know who?” Once you knew someone in City Hall…especially one of the big ones, you could count on your taxes being written off. Well, we hear the Council’s threatening foreclosure of properties? Let’s see how that’ll pan out. Friends are forever?
But most intriguingly… we’ve been hearing about this new parking meter solution to Georgetown’s fiscal challenges. One fella came up with a proposal to supply five or so streets with meters and the 20% the City Council will get will be worth 0M annually! That means the company’ll keep 0M, nuh? And here your Eyewitness thought only the Bank of Guyana was permitted to print money!
But before we get to counting the money (loot?), there’s another troublesome question that needs to be answered. If Local Government was supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread, how come the Deputy Mayor who’s elected by the people – can’t question the choice by the Town Clerk of a fly-by-night operator for installing the parking meters?
The City Clerk is unelected and still the appointee of the Central Government Minister Bulkan, no?
What happened to the Local Government Committee that was supposed to replace him in the order of things?
…on the western front?
You have to give this ex-pat Guyanese fella in the US – Wesley Kirton – an “A” for effort in promoting Guyana and business for Guyana. He’s been doing it for years…and while we haven’t heard of too many fruits from his labours that’s not his fault, is it? You can take the investor to the water, but you can’t force him to drink, can you?
But there’s this letter he’s just written to the press. He was at some high-level panel discussion in NY, which included a State Governor from Venezuela along with other Venezuelan and Western heavies. They were all figuring out how to raise US$50 billion to rescue Venezuela from its meltdown. What was interesting was their nonchalant assumption that our oil reserves should be developed “jointly” with Venezuela.
Remember that? Joint development that had been offered to and rejected by Burnham, back in the day?
Seems we have to be careful of folks playing both sides against the middle?
…with inciting hate?
Now 50 gays have been murdered in America. This is the product of hate. A hate of the “other” that’s destroying the original promise of America to save “huddled masses”.
A hate that’s fuelled today by leaders like Donald Trump.
