Aubrey Norton's allegation is emblematic of the political prostitution of one’s soul

We understand Aubrey Norton’s angst. Really we do. Summarily thrown out on his ear from the chairmanship of the PNC by Hoyte (the “General Secretary is my ‘creature’”), he’s had a devil of a time in getting back into the swing of things. For a while he thought he stood a chance when he betrayed his buddy MacAllister in the Team Alexander manoeuvre to oust Corbin. But Corbin, like Burnham decades before with Hamilton Green, knew about naked ambition and ensured Norton remained on the periphery.
Granger followed suit, even though Norton worked his butt off in Linden last November. And Norton keeps trying to show he’s of value so that he could sit at the big table once again. He’s reduced to writing letters to the press cussing out the PPP for one reason or another – not that he needs a reason. Then along came the budget.
He writes that the budgeted amount for spending on Region Four – where APNU won – is proportionately far below what the PPP spends on regions that the PPP won. He doesn’t bother to let the readers guess what his alleged figures mean, he spells it out. The PPP’s spending paints “a picture of discrimination and political favouritism” against PNC/APNU supporters – read “African Guyanese”..
This allegation is emblematic of the political prostitution of one’s soul that has guaranteed that this country will never get anywhere. The truth of the matter is that most of the spending for governmental services in Georgetown comes out of the central government’s budget – not the Region Four budget. Take Georgetown Hospital – which is the local hospital for Georgetown residents – the government foots the bill. Take all the schools – the best in the country, mind you – ditto. And so on and so forth.
What makes Norton’s diatribe so depressing is that the government points out the facts every year – but like clockwork, the PNC, now APNU, and AFC regurgitate the inflammatory lies. And the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News print them without the editorial notes they regularly append to interventions of defenders of the government.
Norton’s desperate bid for political relevance, we can understand – a drowning man will grab at any straw – but we hope the APNU/AFC leadership gets out of the gutter this time.