Some good money coming

Ah hearing de talk dat “Some good money coming!” Dat was de high-pint of our Pry-Minister’s address at de Fisherman’s Day Rally last Monday. We were told dat an 11-member delegation from de ALBA Bank was sent here by Venezuela’s new president, Nicholas Maduro.

Ah wish to express sins-here gratitude to president Maduro foh thinking about us. We know we will be promised de moon and de star, he might give us shares in Venezuela’s cash strapped Airlines Conviasa.{{more}} But we expect very lickle will come out of dis visit, except of course ah lot ah pull-it-tek-all gimmick, part of de ULP preparation foh de 2015 elect-shun.

On de other hand we in SVG wondering how we can help our brothers and sisters in Oil Rich Venezuela, way de word out earlier dis week is dat Venezuelans, who use some 125 million rolls ah toilet paper, suddenly run out, no wiper dey! So dey increasing de supply by 40 million more rolls ah month. In de meantime dey importing 50 million rolls to wipe-up de mess immediately and 760,000 pounds ah food to calm down de people.

Lie-Za say dat tells she one ting, either Die-ah-rear tek over, or ah lot ah Sh…t teking place in Venezuela.

Anyhow, “drunk or business, mind yuh own sober” oops dat should be “drunk or sober, mind yuh own business!” Maduro is doing ah double wammy, rescuing Venezuela and SVG in one lash. We getting fresh funding.

De PM did not say if de money was ah loan or grant, but if de PM say so, is so, but his exact words was “Some good money coming!” We take it dat is ALBA Currency, de “Sucre” and foh sure dat it will be “Sweet!”

Sucre is Spanish foh sweet. De PM got ah first hand taste ah de Sucre, and it sweet, so it got to be Good Money. But Dr De Shong done warn me dat Sweet ting is not necessarily good, not to mess wid too much ah “Sweet!”

All money is supposed to be Good Money, until we bad spend it. We not talking Drugs Money. But presently millions ah tax-payers “Good Money” spending pon former ULP ministers and supporters to sit pon Boards doing absolutely nothing, while people wid families to feed getting sent home. And what bout all de legal Fees, hundreds of thousands ah dollars, dat had to be paid to Lawyers representing de defendants on de Guv-ah-mint side in de Law Suits. Dat is “Good Money spent Badly.

Is no secret dat de Tie-One-Knees Guv-ah-mint has given dis country “Some good good money.” Learning Resource Centres in every constituency, millions ah dollars, how many ah dem functioning as dey were supposed to. Tie-One-Knees money build de beginning and de end ah de Cross Country Road, where is de Cross Country Road? “Good Money tun Bad.”

Four years ago, de Jah-pon-knees Guv-ah-mint spent thirty-two million EC dollars, “Some Good Money came” to build de Owia Fisheries Centre. At de opening, Minister Gomry Daniel also de area Representer described de project as “a beacon in the community and one of the best in the Caribbean.” De PM had his usual bit to say too: “how much careful planning was undertaken to decide the circumstances under which to construct this facility.” De Owia Fisheries Centre is one ah we national white elephant, Shut Down! Finally, last Monday de PM had to add-myth dat Guv-ah-mint failed on dat one as well, dey can’t handle de operations. “Good Money tun Ban”

Also in his address on Fisherman’s Day, de PM lamented de fact dat 10 of de 30 member staff at de Fisheries Department got Degrees, is it Foreign high’t, Sell-see-us or no temperature at all? How many ah dem got dey Degree in how to catch ah fish?

Thousands ah dollars spent obtaining Degrees, how much was spent to assist de Fisher Folks wid equipment or few-ill, these are de people who catch de fish, on whom we should spend “Some Good Money!”

And is de same ting dat holds foh de Agriculture Dept, ah would imagine dat fifty percent ah de staff got Degrees, not enough temperature to save we Banana! Dat’s Some Good Money spent Bad!

Check out de steel (frame) structure at Arnos Vale next to LIME Compound, dat was supposed to be ah Carnival Village wid Mas tent and de full wuks. It’s at ah stand still foh years, neither going nor coming. Finally it was pronounced dead in Par-liar-mint. “Good Money spent Bad!”

All money coming to us, lickle or much should be described as : “Some Good Money coming.” Just like how remittances from de Die-as-poorer is always greeted as “Some Good Money Coming”, yes de US dollars is “Good Money,” also de EURO, de Pound, de Canadian dollar, all is considered good money.

Ah not knocking my Guy-on-knees brothers, but even de Guyanese dollar is good money too! One ah Lie-Za ole-time boy-fren send she ten thousand Guyana Dollars, and she thought she had enough to pay down on ah Low Income House, until de Bank Teller handed her ah one hundred E.C. dollar bill.

Lie-Za say if anybody got “Some money dat ain’t good coming” and need help, gee her ah call.

And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

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