From KFC to KTC

Friday night has been family night in my home foh years. It all started when de kids were younger; we would “join de line and dine” at KFC. Business was bright, de lines grew longer and longer, sometimes we had to wait foh an hour before we got served. We were regulars, so much so, dat after ah while, every KFC wuker at de uptown outlet knew my order: “8 piece family feast, 4 original, 4 spicy, 2 fries, 2 corn, 2 kola champagne 2 fruit punch, some extra ketchup.”{{more}} At first ah uses to be annoyed when my son, ah KFC lover, would knock on de bedroom door early, early on ah Friday morning and say: “Daddy, guess what is today? family night!” Within months ah got so hooked on KFC me-self, dat ah would wake up de whole house on Friday mornings and shout:“Guess what is today-oh? Family night!”

Junk or no junk, KFC is way ah took me visiting friends and relatives on ah Friday night; and dey all agreed dat Vincy KFC was de best. During de E-con-nah-mek down turn, other businesses dey crying out, things were so good at KFC dat we saw de third outlet at Arnos Vale. But Mother Pryam’s fear-most words: “It won’t be always so,” began manifesting itself, and KFC was no except-shun. De E-con-ah-mek down-turn was wreaking havoc in SVG. Inspite ah all ah dat, Ken in an interview on IK-TV program “Unrendered,” saying: “had he known dis ULP Go-venom-men’t would ah been so progressive, he would not ah leave de party.”

But dat was vintage Ken Boy-yeh, he sees hope when all else see despair. On one hand de economy was showing negative growth, on de other de PM was boasting dat de country was on de “cusp of an E-con-nah-mek take-off.” Dat Argyle Airport was on course heading foh de home stretch, so Go-venom-mint was inviting hoteliers and related businesses, to come on board in anticipate-shun of de boom: “Visitors will flood de country, dey had International Airlines line up in waiting foh Argyle to finish; E.T Joshua Airport was going to be developed into ah Mega City on completion of de Argyle Airport in 2011.” All de while de stark reality was dat businesses were feeling it back and belly, dey were laying off staff, some businesses closed dey doors, people were and still crying out foh hardship.

But Ken, de optimist fell foh de prop-ah-gang-dah. If truth be told, Ken played de ass-trick game, he bury he head in de sand, refusing to accept de reality, dat dis country’s E-con-ah-me was sliding down ah press-ah-piss. Sadly all fall down, and it is painfully dat 190 wukers are widout salaries, ah hope Ken could get ah loan from de NIS, like de Go-venom-mint did, to keep dem wukers alive, as he sorts out things. Oh Yes, Ken will be back, not as KFC but KTC as in Ken Tek-he Chicken!

Success has ah million friends, failure has none, look how everybody beating up pon Ken today. Even de Prime Minister at ah press con-friends dis week, tek ah swipe at Ken foh saying, dat in anticipation of dis proposed Mega City by 2011, he took ah head start and invested in de Aunt Job complex at Cane Hall. In other words, he saying Go-venom-men’t misled him, ah serious indictment dat. Lie-Za say Ken should ah never put ah single block at Arnos Vale unless he did get de Pry-minister to endorse his Mega City loan at de NCB Bank, or de NIS. I suppose it’s all about being progressive!

But ole people say “if yuh nah try nutten yuh will never gain nutten.” Ken Boy-yeh has tried, maybe he tried too hard. De name Boy-yeh will be remembered as ah man ahead of his time, unfortunately it will be too late. Thanks anyway Ken. Lie-Za say is better he did stick wid one or two KFC outlets and cream off de profits from his investments and stack it away like de others in ah Swiss Bank. And den do like others sit on Boards or dey pon Radio Stay-shun spreading de party prop-ah-gang-dah, doing absolutely nothing to create jobs or improve de E-con-ah-me, except drawing big salaries and allowances, as dey suck de life-blood ah dis country.

But dat’s not Ken, he’s too flam-boy-aunt foh dat. He decided to invest or re-invest it all right hey way he made it, he wanted to create more jobs. Dis Friday dey will be 191 former KFC wukers at home widout ah paycheck. Deys no hope foh employment wid dis Go-venom-men’t, in fact we are hearing about more businesses closing. Slowly dis country is heading foh ah big slide, Lie-Za predick it will be ah Land-slide, Island-wide! And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

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