My happiest moments is when ah see another Vincy open ah business, so ah will have big, big problem with the way Private Contractor, Bishop Edmund John who, as ah youth worked as ah labourer on the road gangs at PWD, developed ah very successful Company, and to much pressure he was forced to close down. According to Bishop, from the time this Guv-ah-mint tek office they raised his rent by 50 percent, then he was forced to close his cold mix plant and, finally he was given notice to remove his Plant from Guv-ah-mint lands at Arnos Vale, so he decide to lay off his 40-something workers and Close Down his Island Works Construction Company. {{more}}

In spite ah the heat, ah have absolutely no problem with any Contractor or Firm with ah brother or sister who is ah Minister in the Guv-ah-mint getting wuk, given ah level feel. So ah have no problem with Franco Contractors, the brothers ah the minister ah road, bridge and awarding Contract, getting any big contracts with Guv-ah-mint. Franco was around before Joe-Lion their brother became ah Minister. The quality ah wuk that Franco been doing has always been good, and the last contract that NDP gave out for Murray Road went to Franco. So with ah decent Tender’s Board in place, ah don’t have any problem if and when Franco get Guv-ah-mint Contract.

Sub-Contracting is not new either. It is normal foh ah Firm that wins ah bid to sub-contract portions ah the Wuk to another Company. But ah have serious reservations when without going thru the due tender process, ah Tie-Win-Ease Firm was selected to build the Cross Country Road or what-ever the road suppose to be, for six million dollars. And without hoisting ah stroke, the Tie-Win-Ease tun-wrong and sub-contracts the Wuk to Franco foh five million. That just like in the ole days whenever sugar scarce, the only shop in the Village with sugar uses to be Uncle Sam; but he making style and selling to his customers only. So if yoh was not ah customer and yuh wanted sugar, yuh better had get ah Villager who was, to buy sugar foh yoh. Dem ole tricks uses to wuk, but those were the days ah half pound ah sugar, penny butter and three cents cooking oil; one ain’t expect to see them kind ah share-D looking cheap shots in the running ah Guv-ah-mint in our 25th year of In-dip-and-dance. Man ah would ah much prefer the Contract go up foh tender and if even Franco was the highest bid, ah wouldn’t ah say bip if Franco did get it…..but Do Things de Fair Way!

IF UNCLE CALVIN SAY SO

Daniel Cummings, Engineer and former CWSA manager, said it all last week and certainly put the case foh ah Cross Country Road to RIP. Minister Joe-Lion and de Come-red will not be able to convince the nation that the road is ah wise thing anymore. Uncle Calvin ah man that dwell in de Forest foh over forty years, tek one brief look at Ivor Jackson’s Report and say he would ah tek half hour to give them that report verbally and since his eyes ain’t so sharp, he would ah tek three weeks to document the facts. Uncle Calvin don’t bluff, if he say so, is So!

WE NOT PLANTING DE RIGHT CROPS

Farmers Market is ah Good I-dare, but interestingly on Sat-dey morning while the Promoters was at Diamond glorifying the I-dear and patting dem-self on dey backs; I was Catching Fits in town looking foh Garlic. Eventually ah got more Garlic than ah wanted from the vendors outside C.K. Greaves, nicely packaged, four pegs in ah pack foh ah dollar. But there is ah label on the package that says “Product of China”! Now ah could see me-self buying ah Sket-hell from Japan, Coffee from Brazil, even Tea from China, but Garlic? No way! Some body got to tell the farmers here to plant Garlic and onions, that tomato is $7.00 ah pound at the Marketing Board, the Supermarket de Come-Red did revitalize to bring Greaves, Bonadie and Veira pon dey knees. Them Greaves say they got to thank de Come-Red foh passing bad mouth pon them, business so bright that even he in Par-liar-mint tun-wrong boasting bout Greaves meking rapid expansion.

DAT BLACK FISH OIL AGAIN

Ah went to Bagga last week to give some ah the students of the Primary school and Multipurpose center at Bagga ah PEP talk. Ex-Police Primus from Bagga, now in the USA is taking ah interest in the youths from the area, he got me to go down. Nice bunch ah youths who will benefit from ah lot more of us going down to tell them to stay focus, be honest, read good material and stay way from the bad substances. At the end ah was given an Award Certificate and guess what else? Principal Mrs Bulze very shyly looked at me and said: “ Mr Alexander we have a little gift for you, we don’t know if you eat this stuff, but it’s some of our own Black Fish Crips”. Right away me mouth start ah run water and the name ah two citizens of Bagga came to mind, Doc Fraser whose wife ban him from Black Fish and PR who Lie-Za say did challenge Sir James and tell him PR Bagga Black Fish Oil stronger than Sir James’ Bequia Whale Oil, after that, there was no-mo PR, me Nah-No way went wrong!

RECONCILIATION IS DE KEY

Happy 25th In-deep-and-dense. We are still Strong in the Weak Areas and Weak in the Strong Areas. Weak in Sharing, Caring, Loving, National pride, Respect, Apetite foh Wuk, Production and so on. And Strong as ever in Corruption, Crime, Drugs, Violence, Dishonest, Laziness, worthlessness and so on. If there is one area ah would love to see greater strides, is in Reconciliation. The country continues to go under because men cannot resolve differences. And sad to say there is no mechanism in place in the Home, the Church, the School or among the pull-it-tek-all directorates to foster, promote and encourage Reconciliation. Ah will say Reconciliation is the single most factor that can restore SVG! And with that ah gone again.

One Love Bassy.