Mr PM Beg Pardon!

Ah read in “I Witness News” (IWN) dat last Monday, June 16, 2025, de Pry-mini-star”s in his ah-dress at the Church Service to mark Public Service Day, told Public Servants present dat “he will bring to Parliament a law to ENSHRINE the pension rights of public servants who returned to their jobs, after being fired under the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.” Of course he was speaking about the Illegal, Draconian law that his ULP Cabinet passed in 2021, which resulted in hundreds of public sector employees getting fired (losing dey jobs, pen-shuns and gratuity) for not taking a COVID-19 jab.

Now when de Py-mini-star use de word “ENSHRINE” does he mean dat all pensions and gratuity dat dey would have accumulated before dey were dismissed in 2021, dat was deemed to have been lost, will now be Restored as ah result of dis new ENSHRINE-ment Law he is bringing to Par-liar-mint? Or by ENSHRINE does he mean as of now under dey new date of Appointment. According to de IWN report, de Pry-mini-star (did not hesitate to show how forgiving he is) when he made menshun dat he holds no bad-blood or is it mad-blood foh de buss-head he suffered during de Public Servant’s protest outside Par-liar-mint, against de vax-seen Bill being debated back den. He was quoted as saying: “ I’m absolutely sure that none of you (public servants) had anything to do with busting my head, so I don’t hold those things in my mind.” De master of smooth talk was able to put to rest his unfortunate buss-head in friendly language.

“There are still some scars,” he said, “but we must not allow those scars to be perpetually scabrous.” Google is my pocket book and Google tells me dat “A scar is a mark left on the skin after a wound or injury has healed. What has happened to our unfortunate Public Servants,who refused to take de vax-seen is no ordinary “Mark on de Skin.” Ole people call dem is life-sores till death.

And Mr Pry-mini-star, in your message on Monday, instead of talking bout ENSHRIN-ing pen-shun, yuh should ah bin apologizing in church, begging foh forgiveness foh de pain and suffering yuh wicked Administration, has caused, and is still causing workers. We are talking bout people wid zero income! Losing yuh wuk could mean “ yuh scarred for life.” Can’t pay mortgage! Can’t pay school fees. No scar at all Sir, dis is ah Fractured Limb or scull, broken bones, not to men-shun broken homes. In simple language losing ah job means teking bread and butter out ah poor people mouth. Losing yuh wuk could man losing yuh spouse!

Yes de pandemic which was brought upon us by forces outside still causing lots ah challenges for all of us. St. Vincent and the Grenadines was the only Carry-Come country to impose a vaccine mandate and while others are riding above de Pan-dem-Ache we still ah play Pull-it-tek-all games. Way doh meet, doh past yuh! And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

• Bassy Alexander is a land surveyorn,folklorist and social commentator.