Living with the circus in a failed state
March 16, 2014 | By KNews | Filed Under Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon
If you are a student of politics and you have been in this country since the PPP came to power, but especially since Mr. Jagdeo became President, you must have said to yourself one morning while having your coffee or tea and while reading the newspapers; “Which lunatic asylum did these Guyanese leaders escape from?” Central African Republic, South Sudan, Thailand, Venezuela and Ukraine are going through terrible times, but at no time would you hear the foolish things come out the mouths of governmental leaders as we have in Guyana. As a student of Guyanese society you are torn between contrasting emotions – exasperation and hilarity. The sad thing about the PPP leadership is that no one in the hierarchy possesses the authority to say; “Wait a minute, stop that nonsense; you are embarrassing the party and the nation. Be careful in the future.” The PPP leadership not only fails to shut up its clowns that continue to ruin their image but on the contrary, they are promoted in rank. A Minister says that he is “a maan dat does illegal things” and he is elevated to the upper echelons of the judiciary. A Parliamentarian, Neil Kumar, does not know that in politics and journalism in Guyana, we call the three states that provide the bulk of Guyana’s aid, the ABC countries – America, Britain and Canada. So he publicly refers to these three friendly nations as Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Since then the PPP has put him on a number of parliamentary committees. Anyone who comes from another planet and sees Roger Luncheon on television at his press conferences would refuse to believe that he is perhaps the second in charge after former president, Bharrat Jagdeo. No one from the top of the PPP pyramid has whispered to Luncheon that his press conferences are more noted for his amusing style than for substance. If Luncheon resumes work, he will continue to host the Government’s weekly press briefings and the country will be entertained. Clement Rohee has become the PPP General-Secretary. He doesn’t deserve it and for one reason – he refuses to learn that after you leave the gutter, there are behavioural forms that you have to adopt not to please the Joneses, not to please your friends, not even to please society but because that is essentially what life is about. You do not go to a wedding in short pants. And why not? Because that is life. You do not go to your swearing in ceremony and your hat is on your head. And why not? That is life. No matter how hungry you are, you do not open your sandwich wrapper and eat in church while the preacher is conducting his sermon. And why not? Because that is the way life is for all humans. Mr. Rohee has made a mockery of himself countless times and he has not learned and will not learn. Why would any nation vote for a man who wants to be president when in announcing his intention exclaimed; “Why not, goat ain’t bite me!” Foolishly, Rohee could not have seen that in such an explanation, an irony would have been produced because in such a style, people would say that goat did indeed bite him. No one from within the helm of the PPP ever lectured Rohee on his deportment. On the contrary he was elevated to the General-Secretary’s post. And the circus goes on. At every press conference, there is a laugh when his utterances are carried in the media. And it is also his reaction to questions that is predictably funny. Tell me if as a journalist or a citizen you wouldn’t laugh at the following. Rohee said that the opposition politicians are friends of the drug traffickers. Asked to produce evidence, a simple educated answer should have been; “At the appropriate time, I will release such.” Here was Rohee’s reply to the reporter, “I ain’t dealing with that.” Keep an eye on Rohee’s pronouncements at his press conferences. Here is the latest. The PPP issued a statement asserting that a Minister is a Minister at all times. He is never off-duty. This was the explanation for offering governmental support to Finance Minister Ashni Singh who was the erring driver in a road accident in which he fled or left or moved away from the scene of the accident. So when a Minister is looking for ladies of the night or having sex in his marital home or fishing or drunk to hell in a rum shop, he is on duty? So while rum-drinking at midnight or fishing on a holiday in the Mahaicony creek, he can take the Ministerial car? The circus goes on.