A mystery wrapped in a riddle

May 01, 2023 News

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Hard truths…

By: GHK Lall

Kaieteur News – The phone gone away, the visa gone, but the story is not going away.  As much as the PPP Government wishes it to fade into the mists of amnesia, the magical mysteries surrounding the PS and her phone are still here with us.  Even the little that the Government-President, Minister, Ministry, and the PS herself – has confirmed that nothing of substance has been said, that some kind of fix is in to keep this shaky business under close arrest.  That is, no movement allowed, no genuine enlightenment forthcoming.  And now, SN’s sprawling editorial of Friday, April 28th titled “PS Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas phone” has only introduced more snakes and scorpions into the mix.  It was thoughtful of His Excellency to decide on a timely cocktail mix to ease troubled nerves, and put the best face on a rough set of circumstances, inclusive of a mystery wrapped in a riddle…

From Assistant Accountant to the unlikely height of Permanent Secretary in one fell swoop, to China for undisclosed training, and an official passport for an unofficial jaunt, are elements worthy of a murder mystery novel. Murder, because that is exactly what the PPP Government, the President, and Minister(s) are doing to the intelligence of Guyanese.  The mysteries keep mounting: first, it was this terse business about travel interception, then phone incarceration, followed by visa revocation, and last, watch list inclusion.  The sequence is jumbled, because other than the few deep within the recesses (and the highest heights) of the secretive PPP Government, no Guyanese actually know the real facts and circumstances in this PS saga, this phone farce.  Because Guyanese don’t know that doesn’t mean that they can’t think.  And the more that the Government slides and scoots around this slippery story, the more citizens see the light.  This is not about some expensive, top of the line device; it is about what is inside of it.  Think the damning, the worst.

I had repeatedly and respectfully cautioned His Excellency: when coverups become the culture, then there are these convictions of property, person, and practices that inevitably come to light.  They may be belated, and housed behind an Iron Curtain (how is that for a golden oldie?), but they still hit with all the force of a blast furnace.  This is neither clean nor upright governance nor leadership.  Something is rotten in Guyana, and it cannot be contained.  It stinks all the way to Beijing and back.

What do I make of all of this?  The PS is radioactive.  Touch her and the risk of contamination expands exponentially.  Nobody is making a serious effort to do any touching, not even the Teflon head-of-state.  On this one, he comes across as groping for tongue, tone, and persuasive truth.  I regret to report that he has lost on all three counts.  Next, the Yanks are having a field day with that phone; after all, nobody bothers sending postcards these days.  In times past, PPP supporters and PPP brass chased away the Chinese fellow with his accusations and connections.  Presently, the word is damage control, and the best approach is to muffle the sound system: nobody says anything.  Nobody knows anything.  When the Oriental fellow came out of the woodwork, loud were the shrill cries about evidence.  I don’t hear any of my fine-feathered friends in the media speaking about sovereignty, or ‘grave intrusion’ (in their best imitation of Ambassador Lynch or Henry Kissinger), or American overreach.  Suddenly, China looks like a real perilous place to be doing business with, having any kind of interaction.

Regarding the PS’s own statement, I must say it is a masterpiece of saying something, without saying anything.  This has become quite the norm for the government and its leading spokespeople. Regarding the Hon. Vice President’s extraordinary ditty about people having “multiple existences”, it possesses a Jekyll and Hyde nature.  In this context of the PS, it comes across as split existences, stealth existences, and still other existences that are better left unaddressed.  To take the Vice President’s “multiple existences” term of choice to its natural habitat, then Guyana has a population littered with many Houdini-like figures.  Excellency Ali himself spoke to ‘misunderstanding’ and this is between sets of English-speaking bodies and their people.  Considering this, one has to wonder what kind of ‘understanding’ there could be between the PS and the Chinese.

Last, I am hearing this verbal gimmickry of “routine secondary inspection” and say as follows.  No one on any US Watch List being culled from the crowds and conversed with in a corner can be said to be undergoing either what is a ‘routine’ or something indicative of a ‘secondary’ situation.  Something smells in all of this, and it is not one of those passing garbage trucks.  There is a corpse somewhere, most likely more than a few of them.  Recall: lie down with cats, and only meows result when trying to speak.  I give the President, Vice President, the Minister, and the PS all meowing in curiouser and curiouser falsettos.  Nothing melodious results.  Not straight business.

(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.)

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• China for undisclosed, Government, PPP supporters, The mysteries

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