Uncle Ramesh Doodnauth, 67, retired civil servant, Brooklyn, NY. Calls home every Sunday.

Bai, me read de Brief dis morning and me nearly choke on me paratha.

Dem write de whole ting like Guyana is falling apart! Flooding? Every capital city in de WORLD flood when rain fall fuh 24 hours! You ever see New York after a storm? People kayaking on Flatbush Avenue! Dat is a WORLD PROBLEM, not a Guyana problem. But de Brief doh want to tell you dat.

And dis Karpowership business — yes, de contract getting extended. But WHY? Because de Gas-to-Energy project is BIG and COMPLEX and these tings take time! You cyah just snap yuh finger and build a whole gas pipeline! Me been waiting fuh dem to fix de pothole on me old road in Berbice for fifteen years and THAT smaller project den GTE! Patience, bai. Patience.

Now de streets ting — look, me understand de Mayor vex. But de roads in Georgetown were in a STATE. Me sister walk down Water Street last year and nearly break she ankle in a pothole de size of a crater. If de government fixing dem up, let dem fix! We could sort out de political jurisdiction question AFTER de road smooth, nah?

But here is what de Brief DIDN’T tell you:

ExxonMobil spend US$700 MILLION with LOCAL Guyanese suppliers last year! SEVEN HUNDRED MILLION! American dollars! In Guyana! Going into Guyanese pockets! Dis is what oil money supposed to do and it IS doing it! But de Brief bury dat story at number five like it’s nothing!

And Fenty Beauty launch in Georgetown? Me granddaughter call me from Georgetown crying with excitement. RIHANNA MAKEUP in Guyana now! You know what dat mean? Guyana is a DESTINATION. International brands coming. Tourism real. De country moving!

Also — me note de Brief say nothing about de Guyana-Belize forest MoU. Regional cooperation! Environmental leadership! Dis government signing agreements with sister nations to protect de forest while de whole world watching climate change. But dem rather talk about de Mayor feelings.

Speedeet and Wilar would not be complaining. Dem would be riding dem bicycle through de nice new streets de government fixing.

Enjoy yuh Sunday, family. And drink some coconut water. Good for de pressure.

— Uncle Ramesh, Brooklyn, since 1987

Uncle Ramesh’s Take is a satirical pro-government response feature. Uncle Ramesh is a fictional character. Any resemblance to your actual uncle who calls from Brooklyn and defends everything the government does is purely coincidental.