Satiricus was happy with the new developments in the sugar belt he’d just read about in the papers. He’d been agonising about the fate of all those folks who’ve been fired, but now there was hope. The Demerara Rum Company (DRC) needed molasses for making its world-famous rum, and had been agonising even more about where it was going to get its supply, with all these sugar estates closing down faster than “piss-a-bed” plants when touched.
“Did you hear about DRC working with the Government to reopen Kenmore Estate to produce molasses?” Satiricus asked excitedly, as soon as he sat down at the Back Street Bar.
“Abee hear,” replied Bungi nonchalantly, as he sipped his beer. “Wha’ de big deal?”
“Big deal?? Big deal??” asked Satiticus in surprise. “Cane-cutters will get back their jobs, and the factory will be humming again!! Happy days are here again!!”
“Sato…wha’ wrang wid you, budday?” asked Cappo. “Yuh know anyt’ing ‘bout suga’?”
“Well, a little bit from you fellas,” Satiricus confessed. “What am I missing?”
“Everything!” said Hari, who worked as a bookkeeper on a sugar estate. “Bungi, tell him what the molasses will cost!!”
“Look, Sato,” said Bungi. “Dem still gat fuh cut de cane. Yuh know wha’ dem cane-cutta guh call fuh ‘abstacle’ pay??”
“More money,” said Hari.
“An’ dem still gat fuh pull de punt and chap up and grin’ de cane fuh get de juice, and den b’il am,” pointed out Cappo.
“More money,” intoned Hari.
“An’ if dem na tek out de suga’ like dem seh, and lef’ ev’ryt’ing as molasses,” said Bungi. “Me wan’ fuh know how much DRC guh pay fuh am?”
“See that, Sato?” asked Hari. “Molasses without sugar was US$83/a ton…and sugar was US$275 a ton…and GuySuCo was losing its shirt.”
“Suh how much DRC guh pay?” demanded Cappo again.
“The full price,” suggested Satiricus.
“Suh GuySuCo guh still lose money,” concluded Bungi. “And now DRC guh lose money?”
“Or rum price guh go up!!” exclaimed Cappo in alarm.
Satiricus fell silent.
