Ah pound ah salt fish

Nuff and plenty to talk bout dis week. Dey’s Mr Obama black sorry, back in de White House. But Pastah christen his pick-me fuss, ley we deal wid SVG fuss, hey at home way de sins ah Dr Gone-soft and his ULP continue to catch-up wid dem.

De tangled web all began twelve years ago wid ah promised 30 per cent increase in salary. Men, desperate foh power used it to bait public servants, teachers, nurses, union leaders to block de roads, shut down de country and eventually kick-out de NDP.{{more}}

But immediately on taking command, salaries, increments, just about everyting was put on ice to freeze, mainly because ah “de bad hand” de NDP left de ULP. After ah few years, dat ‘promised 30 per cent increase’ was frozen down to 12 per cent, and today de last 3 percent dat got trapped foh two years in de e-con-ah-mek melt-down is still thawing out.

It’s now finally or is it semi-finally, half de amount, or one-pint-five per cent; dat will be ready when de “Snow- Cone Man” pass round foh Christmas.

Dis one-pint-five per cent bin pon de Ice foh so long, it is now “Snow-cone Change!” In terms of actual cash in hand, one-pint-five per cent foh ah wuker who gets ah thousand dollars ah month, is fifteen dollars more pon dah salary. Lie-Za say: “Dat can’t even pay foh ah pound ah Salt-fish sorry, cod-fish.

Public Servants will be (more) worse off wid dis “one-pint-five” per cent fan-Tom increase.” But it’s all bout “We Vin tangled web”.

De country cannot afford to pay regular salaries far less increase wid “back-Pay.”

Things could ah bin different, if only de truth had been allowed to vent-too-late and circle-late freely from day one. Instead ah accepting and acknowledging de ailing state ah de E-con-Amy, de nation was fed prop-ah-gang-dah and given glorified stat-is-tick, and public servants and everybody sorry, people wid blind loyalty, believed and now de too-too is about to hit de fan.

What went around reach back round to haunt, NDP is taking its supporters on de street to demon-stray-it, it is like DJ-Voo do in it from de top, all over again.

NDP STRUCK GOLD WID JEWELS

Still at home, de good news in Vin-see Politics is dat Doctor Jewels Ferdinand has decided to “walk de talk!” He will take over West St George from Say-yes Mc Key.

I have known Jewels since he was ah kid. Ah don’t think he knows dat when his father, Bassy, came up from Rose Hall to attend Grammar School, he room ’n’ board at my Grand Parents home, I was de baby in de house den, and when he, de older Bassy moved out on his own, in honour ah his fine manners and behave-yah, dey called me Bassy.

But Jewels is ah “Roots Man, born in Frenches, grow up in de slum, ah Paul’s Lot man, dat is probably why Jewels, wid or widout his Degrees functions at ah high (temperature).

His finest quality is dat in spite ah all his ah-Cool-Aid or is it “Miss Ferdie Mauby,” de human touch is always dey, he remains humble to de core. Dis is not ah U-la-G and all dat ah wish to say now is dat, Jewels is first and foremost ah “Believer in Christ, note ah didn’t say Christian, ah fraid dem too bad; secondly, he is ah committed family man, he don’t run round, other people wid his statch-her would ah had ah lickle woe-man all over de place.

Thirdly, Patriot-is-him and he has proven dat he has skills and ability wid ah willingness to serve selflessly when called upon.

NDP struck gold when dey got Jewels to come on board! Ah wish Jewels all de best in his pool-it-to-call career.

BLACK SORRY… BACK IN DE WHITE HOUSE

Unlike pry minister gone- soft, Obama came clean from day one when he took office. He got ah bad hand from Bush’s legacy, he told de nation ‘like it is’ and did what he had to do, ah menial task, ah lot ah dirty wuk. He was like ah farmer given ah contract to restore farm-lands dat had become overgrown wid forest and wild animals.

His contract was in two halves; so farmer Obama spent trillions clearing down dis huge death in de first phase ah his contract. But now dat he ready foh phase two ah de contract to plough de lands and get de crops growing again; de wealthy land owners don’t want farmer Obama black sorry, back to finish he contract.

But some ah farmer Obama seeds fell on fertile soil way de minority: “de woe-men, de youths, de hiss-panic, de blacks, de wukers in de bail-out automobile industry in Ohio” saw and felt de race-is-him, dey come-bind dey forces, dey refused to meet Rum-knee but mek sure dat farmer Obama completes de two phases ah his contract.

Sad to say dat SVG and de USA got something in common way both countries pull-it-to-kill-he divided badly down de middle. In de USA it’s about Race; in SVG de Race is about Looks and Colour, who got de Looks of ah Jesus Face; and if yuh colour happen to be Yellow and not Red, yuh better got ah darn good excuse.

And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy.

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