No wuk no bread N butter

Monday night our Prime Minister spent 45 minutes on radio and TV addressing de nation on de way forward foh SVG in 2010. When he done he left me wid ah lot ah unanswered questions. Ah was hoping foh ah proposal to correct SVG’s poor performance in Agriculture. Figures foh de OECS region in Agriculture indicates an increase by eight percent, no thanks to SVG whose figures are down by seven percent. Look way SVG, once de breadbasket ah de region, reach under dis ULP Guv-ah-mint.{{more}} Dominica wisely made use of de European money dey got to spend pon Agriculture; we got similar money too, but most ah ours went back, unused, unspent. Does he know dat our agricultural (vegetable) import bill foh 2009 is higher dan 2008?

Ah heard him blaming de European and USA foh de final blow to our Bananas, but ah didn’t hear him say ah word bout our biggest Banana rivals in Latin America, or nothing about saving de industry here at home. Dey tell me Hugh Stewart is ah successful Banana Farmer, maybe we need to use de services of Hugh as Consultant.

Ah didn’t hear him say nutten-tall about praedial larceny, uninterrupted stealing of farmers crops and animals. Dey played Ole Mas wid CDC cheerman, Dennis Ambrose, stealing from him two cows and twelve goats/sheep last weekend, no farmer could possibly survive dem blows. Neither did I hear him say ah ting bout de widespread breaking and robbing on de Yachts and Hotels in de Grenadines and Canash. Are we genuinely providing adequate protection foh our invited guests to our so-called haven. “Come to SVG where it is peaceful and safe!” Anyhow, good wuk by de Police in Calliaqua catching ah thief as soon as he robbed ah yacht in Canash. De Yacht service is vital, it helping to keep de figures for tour-is-him up, it is also heavily tied to our Agriculture, dey buy ah lot ah we farmers’ fruits, greens and vegetables. I am told dat de moment de tourists go ashore to buy ah meal, to supporting de local kitchens, de thieves, tun owners and tek over de yachts. Every time ah tink bout dat wasted $4 million foh Vote Yes, how it could ah gone ah long way beefing up private security around de Yachts, ah feel to bawl out: “ Robbery”!

Some how in his address, Gonsalves didn’t deal wid immediate needs as in wuk directly related to bread and butter issues, de man is in ah Dream, talking bout Dream Team. And to cover his short-comings, he’s now promising ah four lane tunnel thru Cane Garden; Lie-Za say he seeing too much ah dem Tunnel in Venezuela, he getting Tunnel Vision. Ah guess dat Tunnel is his third carrot on de string. We already got de Cross Country road and de Airport. Fancy an Airport, de biggest project dis country will ever see, injected wid another 135 million dollars, but way is de local wuk-force? Shop-keepers and bar owners in Stubbs and Calder come-plain dey not getting any extra business from dat project. Ah would like to know how many local people getting bread ‘n’ butter wuk pon de Airport. And of course to ask d’s questions qualify me foh most backward and negative.

De PM’s big plan foh 2010 narrows down to getting de ULP Administration back in office foh another term. He opens de year wid ah Re-Scuffle. Scuffling ah senator hey and Re-Scuffling another one dey. Senator Julian Francis, undoubtedly de most productive Minister, suddenly tun unpopular and gets half ah Axe, ah Hatch-it! No ministry but according to de PM, he will remain ah senator, to do what? As secretary of de ULP, will now pay more attention to organizing de Party business. Senator Richard Williams gives way to new senator, Me-shell Fife, she will also replace Can-Rod Say-Yes, and people say Rainy too in West Kingstown. Ah Rainy girl, ah did tell yuh dat yuh getting stabotage in yuh constituency. Nah worry, dey weaving tangled webs. But is Poor Conrad Say-yes, de ULP will pay daily in Central Kingstown foh de way dey used, and ab-used Say-yes. Say-yes, Mr Silence in Par-liar-mint foh de last 8 years, is demoted and made Deputy Speaker. Senator Rochelle Forde had ah good stint, is going too. Lie-Za say dat “insurance” boss, Say-yes Mc Kie is de un-named senator, but he wants time to “insure” he doing de right ting. De Dumb could see dat dis Scuffling and Re-Scuffling dubbed de Dream Team, is ah desperate move by Gonsalves to groom candidates foh de upcoming elections, at de country’s expense.

On de other side ah de coin, beginning next Tuesday, NDP supporters and other organizations will protest outside Par-liar-mint, calling foh de resignation of Gonsalves and de ULP. Ten years ago, it was de ULP and other organizations protesting outside Par-liar-mint, calling on de NDP to step down! Dey finally got Mitchell to call fresh elections. Is dis Déjà vu all over again?

PASTAH RALPH WRITES RALPH

Lie-Za listen de P.M’s address right thru, and de only ting she remembers is de flattering letter he read from de Pastor but withheld de Pastor’s name. De first ting she asked me was: ‘ how do yuh like de letter dat de PM got from Pastor Ralph. Ah fraid dat girl. And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.