“Hey what did you think of the passage of the bill establishing a sovereign wealth fund?” “In a country where the government lives on borrowed funds and uses the bulk of our tax money to pay interest and principal as and when due….”

“Hey this is a country where accountants talk not of money laundering for their clients but about the state of the economy…”

“Ha ha indeed, but with one proviso my friend: even those who talk about the money laundering in rather too much detail deny it as soon as they are out of jail, out of the country and their party back in power.”

“And that’s where the bills come in. I was told that balancing instructions have been received: to balance the number of cases filed against the Man Who Must Remain Nameless with the number of bills passed.”

“I see the race is on but whatever for?”

“It helps divert attention if you know what I mean.”

“I would like to propose a bill on the same lines as that in Scotland….wait….let me explain. Margaret Ferrier, a member of parliament from the Scottish National Party travelled by train at the height of the pandemic in 2020 after testing positive for Covid19. The chief whip suspended her for 30 days and she had him removed. The recall petition was triggered as per law and 11,896 voters signed on the first ever recall petition and so there will be a bye election held in her constituency from which she has stated she will not contest.”

“Are you mad! I mean suggesting that a member of parliament can be de-seated not by the party leader or a judiciary enraged at lack of respect during a public speech or by another powerful stakeholder but by the voters!”

“Why not?”

“Because my friend even with the best of intentions in the world this law will be like the sword of Damocles used by the powerful and never by the enfranchised on paper but in reality un-enfranchised.”

“I guess that means us the public.”

“I ask you; was the objective of setting up caretakers prior to elections ever achieved?”

“Its good training – it teaches those previously out of the system, the caretakers’, to throw their dice effectively. I mean the number of those who successfully get a position in the caretaker cabinet and then land up with a cabinet position after elections as well…”

“Throw dice defined as first delivering and then reaping the fruit.”

“Right.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023