Man ‘E Hut Me’

Ah just like de title ah Abija Calypso ‘E Hut Me!’ One could never disclose all de things dat ‘Hut Yoh!’ And, like ‘E Hut Me’ friend who is afraid ah de Cyber Space Bill. So he reaches me thru he own tek-knowledge-he mek, he calls it Spy-dah-space! He sent me an e-mail from an article in de UK Daily Mail. It is about Saint Helena, ah tiny tropical British island in the South Atlantic, situated between Africa and South America; and famous foh being Napoleum’s Prison. St Helena is162 sq. miles wid 4,500 people, SVG is 150 sq. miles wid 100,000. De similarity wid both countries is Airport construction.{{more}} St Helena just completed an Airport dat was originally estimated to cost one billion dollars but de final cost is $1.2 billion. Initially Engineering Firms withdrew dey bids to build de project over concerns, that included blasting de runway out of ah mountainside dat was unfeasible. We did all dat at Stubbs and Argyle.

Dat did not bother de Department For International Development (DIFD) who along wid de St Helena Go-venom-mint, decided dat de Airport was important to de island’s Tour-is-him industry. It takes a passenger 4 days travelling by a Naval Mail Ship, to get to de Island from de nearest landmark, Cape Town. But wid de International Airport, flying reduces dat time to ah few hours.

Bad news last month, May 21, 2016, de day dat was meant to usher in ah new era of prosperity foh St Helena, when dey was suppose to open de new Airport, flight operations were abandoned after safety tests showed Planes couldn’t land. The wind near the runway was too unpredictable as Go-venom-mint (which happens to be de British) was warned when de project was first conceived. It is being dubbed “de worst foreign Aid project in living memory!”

But de DFID and de St Helena Go-venom-mint maintain dat de Airport will open. Hear dis one, already ah smaller Jet landed two weeks ago, to evacuate ah sick child to Africa. Ha! Ha! We did more dan dat at Argyle, we landed four small planes too, was it not “four in ah row.” We in SVG need not worry, just before de 2015 Elect-shuns, ULP supporters were reassured dat de Airport is solid as de rock, when ah LIAT plane landed at Argyle. De article ended by saying dat test flights with commercial jets like de 737, resulted in Aircraft skewing alarmingly when battered by vicious changes in wind-speed and direction.

Dat said, didn’t our Pry-minister say dat de Argyle Airport would ah bin ready foh June, or was it de Fool-ball match USA vs SVG in October, according to de PM, thousands ah Vin-send-shun coming foh de match, and it will be like Labour (Love) Dey all over again. So ah begging Vincies in de Die-us-poorer, go early and book all yo flights foh dat his-sterical landing at Argyle in October.

BILL! BILL! AND MORE BILL!

Cato Labour Party met dey Waterloo when de wanted to suppress de Masses wid de infamous “Dread Bill!” But dat was no lesson to de Mitchell NDP, he saw de beginning ah his party’s demise when he attempted to introduce de rejected “Greedy Bill!” And opposed to all ah dem Bills was Dr Draco, de present PM, tooth and nail he fought foh dey withdrawal, and correctly so. So dah’s why “E Hut Me”, when dis same PM went secretly and passed de Dollar Tax on Grenadines People. Den widout any shame, he came back and say some Ole Lady tell he to withdraw de Tax. Sir James saying now dat he was de ole lady. And “E Hut Me” real bad when ah see how desperate dis ULP fighting to pass de Cyber space Bill, so dat dey could do all de Draconian stunts to shut up people and close down Radio Stay-shuns. Yes “E Hut Me” how dey targeting Dug-he of Nice Radio, taking six months to come up wid ah charge against him. But ah got news foh dem, Dug-he Nice Radio is an anointed Stay-shun, and ley me remind dem about de Bible Verse dat say “Touch not de Lord’s Anointed!”

“E Hut Me” whenever ah hear dat wukers at de Buccama Resort ain’t get pay, sometimes foh weeks dey waiting. But now it is in de public domain dat de Resort owes NIS over two million dollars of wukers money, dat dey have deducted and have not paid into de NIS. De truth is dat our very Go-venom-mint is at fault foh with-holding public wukers NIS deductions. Man if ah tell yuh, “E Hut Me” and wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

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