Many absurd and absorbing things occurred in 2024 that in many ways Guyanese people need to be reminded of because in keeping these issues alive, people in Guyana learn more about their country.
We start with the man who says he has six masters degrees and six doctorates and has been conducting polling in Guyana since the 1980s. His name is Vishnu Bisram. He penned a public letter last year in which he stated that Kaieteur News (KN) is, “the ultimate free press in Guyana.”

Can you forgive Bisram for penning such nonsense because he doesn’t live in Guyana? Bisram, with his 12 higher university degrees knows full well that the owner of KN, Mr. Glen Lall is a lone ranger. I wrote for KN for almost 30 years so I know how Lall ran the newspaper. After that gargantuan blunder, one wonders if anyone takes Bisram seriously. Last year, Bisram went on a steady campaign against the government but as I wrote last year, Bisram with his 12 higher degrees has to know that people who live in glass houses must not throw stones.

Three items in 2024 need to be highlighted and they all involved the Stabroek News (SN). The first one is SN’s consistency in 2024 of bringing the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) to life. No one in this country in 2024 knew what activism the GHRA was involved in that resulted in citizens’ complaints being aired and investigated.

All the GHRA did last year was to continue what it has been doing for many years – issue press releases. And guess which paper carried these press statements exclusively as front page news? Of course, the SN. The second occurrence was Saturday Man, the person who composes the Saturday editorial for SN.

In support of the anti-oil lobby which includes SN’s co-owner, Isabelle DeCaires (remember in SN of November 17, 2022, Ms. DeCaires, along with others, demanded Guyana stop oil production), Saturday Man noted that the reason why the Guyanese people accept oil production in Guyana is because they do not know of the impact that the fossil fuel industry has on the climate.

Most people in the world today know climate damage is a threat to the global environment. The West has so saturated people with that sermon that the world is aware of what is going on with climate change. But 100 per cent of the people in Third World countries where oil has been discovered and is being marketed want the money that comes from the sale of the oil because they believe they are entitled to the revenue from their resources that will lift their countries out of poverty.

A 100 per cent of the people in the Third World where oil is being marketed are fully conscious that the West is not now or ever going to get them out of poverty by financial generosity. The peoples of the Global South now they have to do that by themselves. Almost 100 per cent of the Guyanese people know that the rich, developed nations are the countries that damaged the global environment and they became rich in the process.
Saturday Man wrote his nonsense last year because he is a spokesperson for the New Imperialism that wants the Third World to save the planet that the New Imperialism destroyed since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. The third item in relation to the SN was its repetitive song in 2024 that attacked the government for its criticism of certain civil society groups.

This is a bizarre position of SN that is only found in Guyana. Why a government must not defend itself if certain NGOs and civil society groups constantly condemn policies of the government and make wild accusations against it? SN for last year three times accused the government of attacking certain civil society groups. But why those groups are allowed the right to chastise the government but ministers and the President must not have the right to reply?

Finally, 2024 was the year of humiliation for “Bell Man.” That is the term given to Sherod Duncan of the AFC. Since 2020, Duncan has been hosting a social media programme in which the show starts with Duncan ringing a bell. Duncan became the street fighter for the AFC since 2020. But last year, Duncan had a rude awakening. It goes to show how ignorant Duncan is of Guyana’s sociology.

Last year, Duncan announced his candidacy for leader of the AFC. The middle class leadership of the AFC was appalled that Duncan did not know his place. A street fighter must stay on the streets. The leader position is for a different kind of person. So Nigel Hughes ran against Bell Man and beat him badly. Bell Man’s bell has rung out.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.