Evading arrest by government bounty hunters deputed to micro target political opponents in violation of the intended purpose of this Special Organized Crime Unit and this is all we get in response to a government intent on criminalizing the constitutional body of Government Opposition?
“The Opposition vehemently condemns the arrest of Former Finance Minister, Comrade Winston Jordan….”
What does that even mean?
The target, Jordan, was immediately thrown into a health crisis and the proximate cause of that was his accostment by this goon squad and this is all the Opposition has to say?
Have they forgotten that this Special Organized Crime Unit Crime Unit, SOCU, came out of the UN partner Financial Action Task Force, FATF which begot Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, CFTAF, all of whom, including Roger Luncheon and the US State Department cited Guyana’s criminal enterprise and forced it into international compliance ….and that this degeneration into criminal governance happened under thug, Jagdeo and his PPP?
And, according to Nandlall, this SOCU was “was established in 2013 as a law enforcement agency to investigate, exclusively, allegations and reports relating to money laundering and terrorism.”
The least the Opposition could have done is to tell us if the charges Jordan faces are even remotely connected to money laundering and/or terrorism, particularly because these deputized enforcers are paid from the public coffers.
We’ve been in this default response position for too many decades firing back with condemnations usually in strongest possible terms, now vehement but all amounting to the same rhetorical hot air that, in translation, means we’re not going to do a damn thing more than posture.
And then…
“This is one of the most atrocious pieces of actions by the PPP administration.”
Most atrocious???
Since when did atrocious get superlatives…suggesting gradations of tolerance?
We’re here, a veritable political piñata, because there is no structure that includes effective responses to crises in the organization that is PNC..R.
And this is no criticism.
It is just fact.
Its communications machinery is an operation outsourced to a string of independent contractors, by its share failure to centralize this indispensable part of its business function.
And, inasmuch as those operators can be commended for keeping the spotlight on the political atrocities that is politics as usual in Guyana, the absence of central control and uniformity, that is vital to signature and branding, leaves the Party at risk of being aligned with/ maligned by the views of those productions.
Especially because the Opposition is the 2nd tier of Government, it has to act like it is government- in- waiting, think well beyond tribal buzz words, past domestic appeal.
The political world community should be its target which, therefore ,should shape what it does in the name of politics.
Political Communications is the central nervous system of its operation which makes going past whining, sloganeering, name calling and posturing, critical to the perception of the Agency.
When the PNC talks it should not always be in defense, in opposition, with aggression and in meaningless rhetoric, supposedly saying something comforting or inspiring or promising.
There has to be structured substance, informative ideological detail, how its other half, the government, is or is not following policy or expectations.
And like in any kind of journalism, the Opposition is not the story.
That’s why not disclaiming journalism on its behalf that seeks to be the story, always the central character to political goings on, will forever be to its detriment.
It’s has to go beyond the entity identified by a series of individuals promoting themselves and their political positions in the name of PNC politics.
And its officers, when invoking the Party as an entity, must be wary of not damaging what it stands for by infusing their own sentiments into its chartered purpose.
The Party cannot continue to caricature itself.
This statement “The PPP must know that this will not be accepted” is just a fancier linguistic equivalent to its meaningless cousin cited earlier, spoken in a tone of contrived finality.
And since we’re here, let’s address the ‘installed government’ mantra that seems to give the Party some sort of induced glee when it is used as the projectile it was manufactured to be.
Installed is not, universally, a pejorative. Many governments of legitimacy were installed.
So saying ‘installed’, slathered with the PNC jam of disaffection, on loop, only takes away from the governing gravitas the party should be demonstrating.
And let’s point out, as we’re here, that the ‘installation’ came only after the abdication.
Granger, without ‘leave or license’, left leadership like a privileged coward, disregarding the supporters and donors who got him there, caring naught of the constituents he led, oblivious to the meaning of Team and exited with the contrition of a favored sinner.
That will never be erased by evoking ‘installed’ even for the momentary giggle.
Saying the observers of the election- the OAS and Madam Sarah Ann Lynch – are documented biased observers and that the OAS has a record of election interference would be a more informative as a mantra.
By the way, has he, Granger, in the capacity of Party Leader, even pretended to do the perfunctory representation of his former Minister of Finance, in the face of the executive lawlessness coming from the champions of democracy, the PPP?
Does he have enough political currency to buy some diplomatic engagement from the foreign community that remains silent, as their preferred government takes political prisoners in contravention to democracy?
Better question, does he even care?
Congress is slated for December 11th 2021 (fingers and toes firmly crossed)which is intended to elect and select a number of operatives for key positions.
Hopefully, this iteration of officers will clamor for more structure in leadership.
Messaging beyond Party to the entire country will be critical to its success.
The PNC is the only Party working to improve the lot of all Guyanese, striving to lift all boats and to move away from the traditional trenches of racial division.
This should not be soiled by political egos, too outsized to recognize that a system runs on expertise and not intentions.
And expertise is just that, not a favor to a party member with a signed card and no outstanding dues.
There is hope, too, that grooming successors equipped to handle the challenges of leadership will be part of their immediate agenda, primarily because the median age for those vying for Party Leader is past the biblical allotment of three score and ten.
An effective leader, Thomas Paine said, is someone who knows “when to lead, when to follow, and when to get out of the way”.
Without citing references, the PNC has too many in the way of creating a shared vision for the future and viable and strategic open box plans ready to go, upon assumption of office.
And those willing to make a diagnosis of its stagnation should do so, not thinking of offending any group or person but of reminding those in leadership positions that their primary commitment is to the betterment of the political landscape and that they were placed in office because they pledged to honor that obligation.
We, the ones, who were not chosen by the foreign community because our administrative resume did not meet the scale of corruption and appetite for gore and carnage that endeared them to Jagdeo, must remember that our country is at stake, that the foreigners adorning the PPP emperors in new clothes chose them because they can be bought for 30 pieces of silver.
We will stand fast to protect our borders from the inches and yards under consideration for accession to pathways into neighboring oil producers… by those to whom treason is a by word; for those in whom world domination is a goal.
This goes well beyond the rhetoric of condemnation, men with clenched jaw and pounding fists navigating the political blue print now 64 years old, adlibbing in the name of change.
The successful convention of PNC Congress will be a starting point.
Guyana is a land of six peoples.
Our goal remains ensuring that each race gets its fair share .
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Thanks Verianne – Hoping your observations will be considered.