As a young man I recalled seeing a B Grade Movie, ‘For A Few Dollars More’. Clint Eastwood was the lead character. Those were the days when those Mexican gunslingers were also popular.
These movies had many beautiful one-liners. One popular one was ‘When you come to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk.’ And all of these movies were about chasing money. A few got, many died chasing it and at the end of the day, not one of the heroes appeared to GET rich.
Every day in Georgetown, we can see an episode. There is money dangling before the eyes of the hungry poor. But each must sell his very soul to get a bit. What each gets will never see that person putting food on his table for any length of time.
As the local government elections approach, there is a mad scramble for a few dollars. The calling card is a red jersey. People are led to believe that once they wear the red jersey, obviously procured at great cost, they would be in line for money.
There are fringe elements who come out of the woodwork to parade the red jersey. What is not known is that some of them say that they are being paid as community workers. This is an excellent campaign strategy on the part of the government. At the same time those who are adamant that they would not wear the red jersey have to suffer all manner of indignities. Some are locked up for the most trivial reason.
There was some protest at Hill Foot. Five people were arrested and locked up. There was a time when the police could hold a suspect for an indefinite period. Justice Cecil Kennard handed down a ruling in the 1990s that changed that. At issue was a murder on the Corentyne River. The police held the wife of one of the suspects to pressure the man to surrender. That man later gave a statement that was thrown out by the courts. It was that case that caused the introduction of the 72-hour detention limit.
The court found that the statement was obtained under duress. It was not free and voluntary.
Fast forward to last week when some residents of Hill Foot, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, protested the demolition of their homes. In the end five people were arrested and detained for more than 72 hours. Those arrested were an indigenous woman, some Indo-Guyanese and one Afro-Guyanese.
Despite the duration of the detention, only the Afro Guyanese was charged with threatening behavior. And only the statement of a policeman is supporting this charge. The others have not been charged to date. The police simply had no reason for the detention. And they cannot find a charge for the others.
But they had the power to make life a living hell for those detained. They placed a woman in a cell with a man who is in custody for a sexually related charge. This woman had to endure two days in this cell. Can anyone imagine that this is happening in Guyana with impunity? The woman spoke of being afraid. When her relatives visited the police simply took her out of the cell and made her sit on a bench. When they left, it was back to the cell with the man.
I would expect some reaction from the human rights organisations and the various women’s organisations. This matter should not go unattended and unaddressed. I expect to hear the denials from certain quarters but when I say something I always check and double check. I have since been advised to complain to the Police Commissioner. I would expect the woman with some support, to make that report. And I don’t expect the issue to die.
What’s with the red jersey? You proclaim your support for the ruling party; you vote and photograph the vote so that you can get paid. The money you receive will not tide you over for two days. But some are saying that half a loaf is better than no loaf.
This concentration of red jerseys can be seen in the city and in the other PNCR strongholds. Interestingly, there are people who campaigned with the PNCR in previous elections now joining the PPP. To any observer, the PPP is attracting PNCR supporters. Sadly, most of these people had no political base. Neither did they command support where they lived. They are simply window dressing. Their presence among the ranks of the PPP will make these elections most interesting.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has often said that from its inception the PPP never controlled Georgetown. These elections are about control. That party wants to control Linden, Georgetown, Bartica and New Amsterdam. What better way than to buy some of the residents in those locations? Especially those who were once PNCR members?
It would be interesting to see how much it is costing the PPP to pay all those people. This payout is not coming from the coffers of the PPP. Many people say it is oil money. But there is no money to pay teachers.
Children in this oil rich country are still going to school hungry. Guyana cannot feed its people and its children but the ruling party wants control. It is buying people.
Why this need to control every aspect of national life when there are so many things that aren’t being looked at? There is no Police Service Commission, no Judicial Service Commission, No Public Service Commission and no complaints from civil society.
There was talk about the massive expenditure on infrastructure this year. Stone was expected to be in short supply to warrant importation. Guyana’s largest stone producer has stockpiled stone to facilitate the government’s massive infrastructure development.This massive drive seems to have ground to a halt. The largest stone producer has also invested billions of dollars in heavy duty equipment to expedite production.
And why the silence on the two major happenings in recent times? The Police Commissioner and the Home Affairs Minister have gone dumb on the killing of one of the most dangerous men, Royden Williams. And almost a week has passed and there has been no post mortem report. Equally there is a deafening silence on the situation at Mahdia. For a group who loved to hold press conferences on any little thing, these people are silent.
And thanks to Stabroek News, we are now hearing about the review by UNICEF of the schools’ dorms, countrywide. That review highlighted myriad deficiencies. Education Minister Priya Manickchand never said a word about this.Neither were these deficiencies addressed.
