OL Norton getting in the groove

Apr 13, 2024 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

Hard Truths by GHK Lall

Kaieteur News – Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton is getting in a groove, building momentum. I open a paper, turn a page, and there he is getting in the face of the PPP Government and naming names. President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo have become his preferred targets, his whipping posts. I commend Mr. Norton for going to the top and latching on to the jugular. The rest are minnows; this PPP leadership duet is what decides where the action is going to be, who is part of it, and how it must unfold. Look at the results of their combined handiwork. It has been one bum job after another. This should not be surprising in the least, for Guyanese get what they paid for (trust is the scarce currency now short) and live with what they had hoped would be those ready to do battle for them. Look elsewhere because Messrs. Ali and Jagdeo have lost whatever courage they had and abandoned their country. If anybody cares to ask what about citizens, I have a ready answer: since when did they matter? If the PPP didn’t care and give a damn about them in 23 years, why are there expectations in the recent three years and more?

GHK Lall

This is where the Opposition Leader has to find his openings, get into his grooves, and come into his season. He has been a bit on the sluggish side. But, like an aircraft accelerating on a runway and gathering power and thrust for liftoff, so must Aubrey Norton. He has lost some time, and every day in Guyana in this era of oil is too precious to be wasted. Often, I muse about writing less in public spaces, while writing books for private profit. The people and the public space win on each occasion. To comfort Dr. Ali and Dr. Jagdeo, I am not running for anything, these writings are not campaign presents. But back to the Opposition Leader. Oil is what makes the pot boil in today’s Guyana.

If the PPP Government, my dear beloved brothers Irfaan and Bharrat, cannot deal with the heat in the oil kitchen, or are too fearful, or on the hook, both should get the hell out of the way. He should see to that, and it will only come about through tireless efforts. He knows more than I do that he represents a barrel of people. The president and vice president have condemned Guyanese, none more than his own, into the dead end and despair of a crab barrel. There should have been a throw down and a showdown already and Mr. Norton knows so. Like I said, he has been kind and gentle; too much so.

To help the Opposition Leader, just like I do for Doctors Ali and Jagdeo, bullies are big bad men until somebody stands in their face and shows them for the cowards that they are. On this oil, both Ali and Jagdeo have worked overtime to shutdown Guyanese who have called for them to fight for Guyana. Jagdeo will have none of that and his minutemen (militias) takeover from there. I see some in the Constitutional Reform Commission. Nigel Hughes lamented the lack of women on it; I point to the extra PPP hands operating in stealth formation under one camouflage body and more. Politics ain’t gat god in Guyana.

I share this with Comrade Norton; the people at Exxon are big boys, old barroom brawlers. They can take a punch. Mr. Norton can only rain so much on them, but he can make the PPP Government into a punching bag. He has no choice but to do everything within his hand reach to force these two clever, cloak-and-dagger PPP leaders to deal in the best patriotic fashion with the likes of Routledge here and Woods over there. These Exxon operators are not brothers, they are plotters and controllers and deprivers of the Guyanese people. President Ali is well aware of that, but he seeks shelter behind words that normally mean something, only for them to mean nothing when he is done running away and hiding from Exxon. VP Jagdeo knows what is required of him but has developed a bad case of yellow fever. Focus on the fever less, associate more with the color. It is the one embraced by frikken peeple.

Now, Mr. Norton is in the laundry business. He has his list. How many new barrels of oil? What accountability from Exxon on Guyanese oil money? Why all the secrecy with this oil? Who are these two guys working for, who do they represent? The Opposition Leader may not like this, but he has to sleep, dream, and rise and shine with oil. Oil must light his lamp. His wick should light a flame around (or under) Dr. Ali and Jagdeo, so that they can see the light. Oil can provide relief with cost of living. Oil can get more to those Guyanese who are chronically short of necessities. Oil must build more than PPP insiders and PPP prearranged infrastructure deals. Oil must mean poor inhabitants of Guyana. Of course, oil means corruption. Simply check how fat some cats have got. Oil is the hub, the rest are spokes. A whole world of difference could unfold if this wealth is handled right. Over to the Opposition Leader.

(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.)

Aubrey Norton, commend, Government, Opposition Leader, PPP

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