Carnival belongs to everyone says PM

Persons who have an input to make that can help the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) achieve its mandate can make their ideas heard but should do it reasonably.

That is the advice given by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves while speaking at the prize giving ceremony of the CDC on Saturday, January 7, at Victoria Park.

The Prime Minister said that his Unity Labour Party (ULP) administration was elected in March 2001, and by the end of 2002, former Minister of Culture Rene Baptiste, Petrona Sealey, a legal drafts person and himself were intimately involved in drafting the law that gave the CDC its mandate and powers.

“This law sets out what the CDC should do. The CDC shall have the power to promote, to manage, to develop, carry out the carnival festival or activity within and outside of the state.

“So when the CDC takes some form of mas and carry it overseas and people say ‘what they doing that for?’, parliament say in their wisdom that you can do it,” Gonsalves pointed out.

“The only thing you have to do it sensibly, reasonably.”

He said when you mention carnival, it doesn’t only mean mas/costume, it means every component, and then the law says while the CDC should organize, promote, conduct and control the operation and management of the carnival of the State, it must be done either independently or in conjunction with any other company or organisation concerned with the development of carnival.

“The law itself is saying, it is the State, it is the market and it is the community,” Dr. Gonsalves stressed.

He also noted that under the law, the CDC is to give a plan no later than four months into the financial year, and the plan should outline what they are going to do, and how they are going to raise money.

“…and if you don’t do that, it is the Minister job to say, ‘you are not carrying out the legal mandate’, and it is the business of the components on the committee, on the board, because remember this, for the administration of the corporation, you have 12 members appointed by the Minister, approved by cabinet, and persons having knowledge in relation to business and finance management, human resource management, marketing, advertising and public relations.”

Gonsalves further said that persons on the board could take advice from outsiders who should not be afraid to give advice.

“And you have people like those, but Luke, if you not on the board, don’t mean that other people who have your skill not on the board and 2- Kool,” the PM said, referring to criticisms made by FM radio Hot 97.1 FM personnel on their AM Mayhem morning show.

The Prime Minister said he did an interview on Hot 97.1 FM last December as he usually does, although the station usually beats up on him regularly.

“…and they have me for three hours, and they spend about an hour on CDC and they spent one third of the time…amidst all the issues in the country.

“They (CDC) may not be doing it as well as you may be doing it, but by all means, make your inputs and do it reasonably and sensibly and make your criticism, but for God’s sake, don’t impute bad faith on the part of people who spending a lot of time and who ain’t getting no big set of money to do this thing, you know- peppercorn,” the PM added.

He said that on the board of the CDC, all the components are represented, and they must have their own affairs in order.

“And if you have your affairs in disorder, don’t blame the CDC when one man come to them and they speak on your behalf and you accept that, then you have another contrary saying,” the PM said.

He noted that the various components do not belong to the persons who head them.

“It is not a tower of babel you know…YouLou Pan Movement, we did not say Rodney Small kingdom- we say Youlou Pan Movement; the Calypsonian Association, it ain’t Cabba (Earl “Cabba” Bennet)…and while some may say Cabba representing well, some go say he cabba cabba,” the PM said while encouraging the components to keep up the good work.

He said he wants people to remember that for all the years before and after independence in 1979, people were calling for a permanent statutory body called the CDC, but there were a mountain of excuses.

“But in one year, we drafted the law and brought it to parliament and set up CDC and there is a lot of wisdom in the law and in 2007 we amended aspects of the law…”.

He said that carnival belongs to all the components so they should work together for the greatness of the festival.