A one-man monopoly

Apr 26, 2024 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

Kaieteur News – There is one policymaker in Guyana.  One man is the chief spokesman for the Guyana Government.  One leader has the fullest say, the only say, in the oil patrimony.  All the other rich patrimonies.  One citizen makes news, is in the news, is the sum of the news.  There is one man controlling all the ministerial portfolios in this country.  Let these be dealt with one by one. May Guyanese with a speck of sense remaining conclude honestly for themselves about what should be done, if a free pass is due.

The president may like to give the impression that he has a hand in policies. But it is crystal that his priorities are secondary in the schemes of the policymaker monopolist.  He is more of a follower, subject to the whims of the policymaker, and pushed into the role of a lesser leader.  There is this pretense of a cabinet of contributory thinkers, when they all have that appearance of the whipped into line and cowed into submission.  There is one policy only: this is it, now get with it.  Since the going is good, very good for all of them, they all fall in line and get with the programme of one man.  It is the same policy in operation, when there are ceaseless and furious attempts to yoke Guyanese to what is decided and dictated.  By one man.  When policies have substance and merit, are powered by clarity and credible integrity, and I can click my heels and salute, too.  Yessir!  This makes sense, is for the best, so there is no need for contradiction or conflict.  Give something readable and believable about the Wales gas-to-Energy project, and there is no stronger supporter.  Don’t insult Guyanese (if there is none caring, then try me) with these horse droppings about better contract management, and there is not even an attempt to figure out ways to circle around Exxon for openings to unravel its stranglehold on this country.  Approve new projects but be skillful enough to wring some concessions out of the company for this oil that it bets so much on.  Do not make it a policy to redirect energies and human and State resources to attack those Guyanese who say why give Exxon what it wants, when we get nothing that we want.  Not even a nudge in that direction.  Not even a move on the Guyana side to probe what can be had, if the right combination of assets is brought to bear.  Is it possible that a prime policy is to want nothing different than what the Coalition signed over to Exxon?  How can any of this be left to go untouched, unchallenged, uncriticised, if there is any iota of self-regard left?

The chief Guyana Government spokesman (the only one that counts) – a one-man propaganda machine masquerading as knowledge man does all the talking for the ruling group, and nothing should not be found fault with, though the flaws and farces are undeniable.  Obeisance and silence when the destiny of a nation hangs.  The monologues of the one man who has usurped for himself that duty and made a messy performance out of it may be well in Kremlin, but not here in what is supposed to be a democracy of free will, the free expression of ideas.  Even in a Forbidden City like Beijing, the wisps of dissent seep out, which means all is not as they say.  In Stalin’s USSR, he had his Beria and Pravda and Izvestia, and still Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn succeeded in sharing the real truths of life over there.  Here this, my fellow Guyanese: the despotic and autocratic need to learn that the more that they try repression, the more there is objection and rejection of their deceptions and cuteness.  When any spokesperson cannot speak straight, then what is left are the circles that must be traveled around and then retraced repeatedly.  Regardless of who is the speaker for the government, Guyanese need the cleanest, clearest, truest story of their excitement-drooling wealth.  When that is more absent than present, the word must go out: something is rotten, something stinks, some things cannot be held together, or made to stand up. I chalk that up to being part of the reason that the man from the CIA identified who was not permitted to be present at his table.

Who is the main newsmaker and fake news operator?  Perhaps, that shouldn’t matter.  I invite fellow Guyanese about who is announcing pension increases (not Vindya); resource developments (not Vickram); indigenous happenings (not Pauline).  Who signs new currency?  Who is Chief Whip and the main whipper of dissonant, disagreeable Guyanese?  Go ahead! Pick a portfolio from Local Government to any in Big Government and there is a common denominator: the one man who decides, the one who alone speaks.  Blanket that man and the government is a blank sheet.  It doesn’t exist, more a shadow than of any substance.  The Soviets had their Iron Curtain, there are attempts by the one-man wrecking crew here to erect the same here.  Guyana has become a country of gamesmen and pranksters.  On the other hand, the foreigners are deadly serious, driven by their lust for profits.  The first policy of the sole policymaker is that no Guyanese should raise any concerns.  Falsehoods flourish.  Betrayals multiply.  Before these, only prostrations welcomed.  Not I.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

• Government, Guyana, patrimonies, policymaker, schemes