It’s all about winning de electshuns

Choose-dey’s In-de-pen-dance message by de PM was like ah clearance sale, ah give-away, win or lose! Sign of desperate-shun foh ah ruling party, dat give credence to de reports dat ULP and NDP neck and neck in de race. On these big occasions ah usually listen foh what is not said. Because what ah heard was ah lickle too much foh de Treasury. Ah heard ah great deal ‘bout salary increase wid back-pay foh public servants, ‘bout increased wages foh all other categories; ‘bout pensions foh Nursing Assistants; ‘bout money foh SVG Footballers;{{more}} ‘bout increase in de number of graduate teachers; ‘bout money foh road wukers foh Christmas; ‘bout cash payments foh successful CAPE and CSEC students; ‘bout duty free Christmas barrels; ‘bout another $6 million foh farmers, and more! What was absent was ah single reference way de money coming from to meet all ah these glory-us promises. Everything pointing to de Treasury and Tax Payers..

My fren in Canada always tell me to give Jah his Jah-kit, dat ULP strong on spending but weak weak on generating income. Dey strong on Eddy-care-shun but weak on providing jobs. While it is good to produce people wid de Eddy-care-shun, de question is Eddy-care-shun in what? Just mek ah block around de Electrical and Electronic Repair shops and see de number of Fridges, Televisions, and Computers piled up waiting to be fixed, don’t talk bout Cell phones. Check de Motor Vehicle Repair shops and see de number of new cars parked up waiting for repairs. Try getting ah decent plumber or ah local joiner to build cupboards looking like those dat are imported.

Business generates money in ah country, de more de merrier, but unfortunately dis ULP administration has not beem able to attract de kind ah businesses dat create plenty jobs. In our case we have seen de closure of ah number of businesses in SVG. De list gets bigger every day, we hearing dat Simpex, one ah de Voyager’s business houses on Back Street has been sold, and people asking Why Dilema over another closure on de corner of Egmont and Bay street.

So when de ULP says ah degree in every home by 2025; ah have me lickle hang-ups when come to dem degrees, what kind ah degree I ask, one dat puts de candidate shopping from store to store looking foh ah job dat doesn’t exist? Ah prefer to hear “by 2015 dey will be at least one self employed person in every house!” Dat is what Eddy-care-shun to meet de nation’s need is all about, empowering people to provide foh dem-selves wid some level of in-deep-and-dance.

When de PM was finished listing his fourteen promises, his ah-dress would ah bin perfect if he could ah listed at least two private business dat will be opened in de coming year dat will generate even half ah de money he plans to disburse?

AH PROPER SALARY REVISION

Ah giving de PM 5 out-ah-10 foh proposing to mek all Nursing Assistants posts pen-shun-able. If he wants ah 10 out-ah 10, check foh all de other categories ah non-pen-shun-able monthly paid, lower income public servants and mek dem pen-shun-able too. And he will get 12-out-ah-10 when he give pen-shun to all dem young, strong and hell’t unemployed ULP supporters on poor relief!

And foh de 2.5 percent increase dat de PM making big boast dat he giving all public wukers, retroactive from January dis year, ah giving him ah 2.5-out-ah-10! It is highly unfair to be giving ah fixed percentage across de board foh all public servants, big salary and small salary getting de same percentage. Not when 2.5 percent foh ah wuker getting $1,200. 00 ah month is $ 30.00 increase, and 2.5 percent on ah salary of $ 6,000.00 ah monty is $150.00 increase. Both wukers go to de same supermarkets. In other words, Public Servants are long overdue ah salary revision dat takes into consideration cost of living and product-shun. Dis dey have not had under de ULP’s 14 years in office.

De PM’s ah-dress was strong in support on Vincy Heat Football. He talk ah lot ah foolishness bout Labour Day in SVG when de US team play de return game in February (de new opening date is now February) how plane loads will land at de Argyle International Airport foh de match. When de Football Association was looking foh $1.5 million, how much Go-venom-mint gave dem? Interestingly he spoke about giving dem money, but never said how much. It is ah shame dat Vincy Heat has not had ah single warm-up game since qualifying foh this round three months ago.

Lie-Za’s brother who lives in Mexico became quite excited on hearing about de de PM’s plane loads coming in February 2016, to watch Vincy Heat play de USA. He wants to apply foh leave and book his flight early, so he called her to find out de name ah de Airlines dat going to do de excursion.. Dat is de kind ah prop-ah-gang-dah dat is supposed to win votes at Elect-shuns. And wid dat is gone ah gone again!

One Love Bassy

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