From where your Eyewitness sits (on a high perch, like those tennis umpires!!), it’s clear to him that much of the hysteria from the Opposition side to select a new leader is because they’re deathly scared the PPP’s use of oil revenues would win over scads of their constituency – making them irrelevant!! And the PPP’s clearly bent on doing that – pointing out it’s what democracy’s all about!! You get into government with a manifesto that attracts a majority of the voters and by delivering the goods (literally!), and you expect to win new converts by delivering goods to a wider set of voters come new elections!!
The PNC had their opportunity when they were voted in back in 2015, and if they were rational, they’d have done exactly what the PPP’s now doing. Now, you may say they didn’t have oil revenues to spend and hand out goodies like Santa “PPP” Claus. True, but shouldn’t they at least have tried to keep the voters who’d put them in office? In our ethnically divided country, that means holding on to the Indian Guyanese votes brought in by Naga and Ramjattan. But NO!! Granger just had to pi55 them off (and worse) by firing 7000 of their sugar worker cohorts!! Did he have a political death wish for the PNC??
Anyhow, the PNC and its troglodytes can jump high or they can jump low, but they ain’t gonna change the PPP’s push to secure a majority to return them in the driver’s seat, come 2024. Now, what can the PNC do about it? Right now, seems they’re focusing on which leader might best undermine the PPP’s programme of delivering the good life. And they’ll do this by invoking the race card. So, it doesn’t matter what the PPP does, African Guyanese are told they’ve been subjected to “racism” and discrimination every step of the way!! The PNC figures if they throw enough mud in the PPP’s direction, some of it gotta stick!!
And it will – after years of conditioning by hearing those accusations from both sides of the divide! Most folks are predisposed to believing them: “Cognitive bias” and all that!! But isn’t it time the PNC quits this negative politicking?? One of the new wannabe leaders can easily move from the negativity to outline a vision that involves and includes all Guyanese. And if they are correct in their assessment of the PPP, then the votes will come!
After all, what will be gained by further polarising the Guyanese people, when votes from the “other side” are needed?? Ain’t we now a nation of minorities, where we need to step beyond our boundaries to reach that 50 percent plus one??
…working?
Becoming “free” – for us, we know – meant that the planters were now free to look for the cheapest form of labour to do the work the slaves used to do. So, from then on, the so-called “free workers” have been agitating and striking to improve their wages and conditions of work. We all know the indentured labourers who replaced the slaves – in a “new form of slavery”, according to some – protested and were killed throughout the 79 years of indentureship.
Against that background, it was rather shocking to your Eyewitness to discover, two years ago, that 4847 work permits had been issued to foreigners to take up employment here!! That there were 9270 applications is even more worrisome!! Did anyone realise there were so many furriners working in jobs that demanded work permits – meaning they weren’t your minimum-wage gigs – in our fair land??
There’s gotta be more than twice that number of jobs at the lower end filled by Venezuelans. So, what’s the position right now?? Furriners still pouring in??
…the frontrunner?
Your Eyewitness understands that bets are being placed on who’s gonna win the PNC’s leadership sweepstakes at the end of June. Norton’s the frontrunner: he controls the election machinery!!
