..and let there be light!!!

jumbo !
I headed towards Moses' office on Wednesday morning and asked him whether he paid the workers some of the remaining deposit. He replied yes to my surprise, he had given them TZS16,000. He still owned them TSZ24,000. In turned out he had no money and was burrowing small amounts from friends or so.
I brought out my notebook and showed him my shopping spree expenditure. I had not only paid off the owing 2 months rent but also covered another one and a half month! And so, he got to my conclusion. So, can you pls pay the rest of that month i.e. TZS50,000 so that you're covered for the 5 months tennacy. Of course, I agreed subject to a receipt and a small amendment to the contract then. Happy with some more cash in hand he continued to praise my work and good deeds......

The previous night Mama Asteria had stayed at the house until six to see that the electrician finishes off his job. Back at the house from Moses' office, I saw light!!! It never felt so good to turn the switch on and the seeing the ceiling bulb light. Next, I never thought that the sight of a brand new ceramic long-drop (toilet) would have made me shriek!!! :)
The fundi and his workers were there busy at their work. But the minute they saw Moses I felt tension in the air. They argued with him for which seemed like ages (of course, in Swahili). When I asked him what's happening, he explained that they wanted another TZS50,000 in hand as the fundi wasn't sure that Moses would pay him once the job was done otherwise they would just stop the work. He further explained that he threatened them back by not even giving them TSZ20,000 - part of the deposit - there and then!! Well, I said, I'm not surprised that they're loosing trust in you. I advised him to do something asap to win them back (otherwise I too would be in jeopardy if they had to just quit!)

Later with Moses gone, I tried to cheer up spirits by buying a bunch of bananas. That did help as they chatted me up, thanked me and wolfed them down. After a while Barosi, the electrician re-appeared this time looking sullen and frustrated. "Moses did not pay me," he said. I was taken aback. What did Moses do with the rest of the money I had given him that morning? did he pay off some other debt? the cement probably?

The mamas came along a little later and the fundi gave them no respite with their interminable complaints against Moses, who having failed to pay off the full TZS50,000 deposit, lamented their concerns about him not being able to meet the full labour cost at the end of the job, that is, TZS180,000. The forman requested TZS10,000 in hand so that he could bring more workers the next day and speed up things, otherwise he would have to abandon all. I could see Mama Asteria tired and weak from her own divorce case concerns while Mama Sada was just as worried. The former asked me whether I could pay another month's rent so the workmen will get some cash. Well, I didn't seem to have another option.
I called Moses and gave him a piece of mind and he told me he had told them that he's come back in the afternoon with money and also pay off the electrician's bill. Should I believe him? I thought. I then marched to town frustrated at the malarchy this Moses had been causing and furthermore for turning us into victims of all complaints.

I returned from town after a visit to the bank and waited for Moses to show up with the money he promised. Time passed and Moses never turned up. I called him again frustrated than ever and the weakest and most depressing of all voices told me that his friend never gave him any money so he had none for the workers! Oh, didn't I expect that! I agreed to meet him next day in his office at 9am to pay another month's rent. But before that, I gave TZS10,000 in Musa's hand (forman). He was so pleased and promised me more men the next day and a job well done, which I believed.

I left for home, glad to have saved the day in a way but my mind couldn't stop pondering about the next day; how could I ensure that the cash I gave Moses would go to the fundi? Then suddenly the answer came to me like the lighting of that ceiling bulb earlier in the morning!

ta for now....keep checking this blog for the next episode!!
Nicky