Dear Editor,
I am pleased to present my half year report on the state of the state here. For those wondering if I am a shade late, I use a Chinese calendar.
Something alarming is happening before our very eyes. PPP stalwarts are getting wiser. They were more tolerable otherwise.
First, there was a below average man (way below) who started the year in fine fashion by babbling about the average market basket and its affordability. From the outset, it was clear that the man was clueless, and over his head. Nonetheless both he and the party decided that discretion is better than valour and promptly banished him from talking about that which he knew not. In fact, that ignorance covered so much territory that there has been nothing but silence from that sorry quarter.
Second, it is noticeable that the Hon Attorney General has vacated the letter columns and is now focused on… well, only he knows since his office is preoccupied with matters not necessarily of a legal bent. It must be acknowledged that a slowly creeping keenness is gaining ground through the massive thickness. There is a lot of work in the offing.
Third, it is encouraging to report that the Hon Minister of Education is maturing, and gaining an understanding of what sagacity represents. In the days since that deplorable ruckus, she has been dutifully silent and spared us (and herself) further embarrassment. Like the children, she is seen, but cannot be heard. The muzzle has come down from elsewhere. Still, the nation would like to know more about the bottom 70-80% of CXC performers. How did they do? How about some unvarnished facts and figures? Please?
Next, the letter writing Permanent Secretary has discovered, of late, the occasional sanctuary of silence. I did say that these guys were getting smarter by the year, and never more so than during a potential election year. They are afraid to trip over either tongue or pen. Given all the spare time available, the PS can now write with impeccable honesty that he is earning a fraction of his official pay, while leaving the propaganda pollution to others.
Then there is the exception of the Minister of Home Affairs. His failure to learn comes from a lack of…. Let me see…. Make that a lots of things, most irredeemable. Due cognizance must be extended to the public service staff (contract workers) for churning out those defensive epistles. It appears, from their writings, that those lovelies are more red (think Moscow and Marx) than the minister himself. Don’t worry; some high pressure learning is in the works. Call it the National Democratic Front. However that particular apparition materializes, it will be neither national in reach, nor democratic in practice. But I do see a ‘Front’ and some names and faces thirsting for a piece of the rich action.
By the way, whatever happened to Winston? He is the easiest of chaps to spot (think a whole newspaper page), but I cannot seem to locate him for the longest time. I miss his voluminous presence. Why is nobody hearing from this local superhero? I confess to missing the political and financial theatre. It seems we have travelled from The Thomas Crown Affair to The Phantom of the Opera. People just keep disappearing; reminds me of Chile and Pinochet.
Things are admittedly so dull during the first part of this year. There are no punching bags around any more. The admiral of the atmosphere is wreathed in smog and found convenient cloud cover to flit about doing his business. But it is clear that acid rain has reduced the hairline, and good easy living expanded the waistline. Guyanese taxpayers should be delighted at the returns, and another return pending. The Chinese and Indians have only ornate private compliments (and equivalent gifts) to offer. I understand that a prestigious award is in the works for mutually rewarding ventures. The award has roots in the Manchu Dynasty. Why Manchu, I wondered? Then I recalled that that dynasty was renowned throughout China for a certain kind and style of governance.
Last, the wisest among them all has to be – must be – the no information commissar. His mission statement is telling: no information, not here, not me, nothing doing. Those pushing for transparency will get clobbered most unceremoniously. I think the taxpayers are getting a fair exchange for a cool million a month. One slap of a refusal, a raised finger (guess which one), and a monthly salary in the bank. Now that is wisdom of rich and rare quintessence.
Watch out! These fellows are up to something. After all, they have to do something with the time on their hands. And that cannot be wholesome or progressive for this country.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
