Latest update December 3rd, 2024 1:00 AM
Mar 16, 2012 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom
There are many women in Guyana who prefer older men… and for some the older the better.
They claim that older men know how to treat a woman well. The old men are not sprinters like the young men. They are more like marathon runners with plenty to stamina and staying power. The older men take their time; they are not in a hurry to finish the race.
Uncle Donald is not a man in a hurry. He did not sweep into office like a hurricane. He breezed in like a light wind. He has been doing things his way, slowly but surely.
There are folks who expected him to sprint to the finish line. But they forget that he is a long distance runner, that he is jogging his way into the history books, and is not, like the Guyana Chronicle is claiming, setting any precedent as President. What a dotish headline!
This past week, he did something that many have been calling for. He did it in his own time and without calling attention to himself. He made public, a number of the contracts for which there was limited public disclosure and which had attracted a great deal of public controversy.
The President did a wonderful thing by making these contracts public and thereby demonstrating that he is not going to hide behind secrecy or the excuses of confidentiality. These contracts preceded the President’s inauguration and were signed under the Jagdeo administration.
This newspaper has made all manner of requests for information about these contracts but many of the officials concerned were unwilling to speak about them prior to the last elections. It was therefore ironic that when the contracts were finally made public this week, there was a great deal of hash about the government’s commitment to transparency. Which government?
Surely it is the Donald Ramotar administration, which has demonstrated the more superior commitment to openness but this was against the background of a great deal of public pressure, especially from the Alliance for Change.
However, it must be conceded that since Uncle Donald took over, the attitude of many investors suddenly changed and they were willing to open up to the media. There has been spectacular change of attitude. Uncle Donald is pressing the right buttons.
The confidential briefing that he held with the political opposition parties was a political masterstroke and it is hoped that yesterday they would have reciprocated and shown greater trust in Parliament. Both the AFC and APNU expressed satisfaction with the openness of the government. They were pleased with how the briefing was handled. How often, if at all, could that have been said about the Jagdeo administration?
Uncle Donald is taking his time. He is not acting rashly. He is however doing the right things and he must be congratulated.
However, it does seem as if there are forces who wish to blindfold him. While the opposition parties were expressing satisfaction with the openness of the government, the state-owned media was up to its usual mischief. The state-media, which has been operating as if we were still in the previous dispensation, ran headlines and stories at total odds with the outcome of the briefing between the government and the opposition parties.
One headline blared about opposition attempts to derail important projects. A newscast began to make terrible accusations against the leader of the AFC. So while Uncle Donald has been trying to do things differently, it seems there are other forces that are bent on blindfolding him and the Guyanese people.
Uncle Donald has been around a long time and he knows that it is not always wise to move like a hurricane. Sometimes you can self-destruct in that way. Sometimes it is best to do things at a slower rate; to take your time, especially when there may be persons within the executive of the party that may still be loyal to those who would not like to see change.
As Uncle Donald therefore sweeps away the debris of the past, he also has to consolidate his position. The state-media is however embarrassing him. They are clearly on a different wavelength from him and the time will soon come when he will have to decide what to do with them.
When that time comes, he should be given the support of the nation because the state media has shown an unwillingness to change and therefore enforced change will have to take place and this will have drawbacks for Uncle Donald and the PPP.
But like the long distance runner that he is, Uncle Donald will make it to the finish line. When he does, not only will the opposition parties be satisfied, but so too will all Guyanese.
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