Appoint NCBA to NCC board

It is now up to Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, to complete the Carnival band membership audit to determine which mas body should sit on the National Carnival Commission (NCC) board.

The minister’s decision to appoint a representative of the National Carnival Bands Association (NCBA) to the board of the NCC in January, last year, was challenged by the TT Carnival Bands Association (TTCBA).

NCBA president David Lopez had been given a short-term appointment to the board, which was to have ended on October 29.

In an oral ruling, Justice Joan Charles held that the minister had the power to appoint Lopez, the incumbent board member, but urged the minister to proceed expeditiously to complete the setting of the criteria and audit of which organisation was the most representative of Carnival bands.

Charles dismissed the TTCBA’s challenge. The Rosalind Gabriel-led TTCBA had been granted leave by Charles to have the minister’s decision reviewed since, they argued, under section 5(1) b of the NCC Act, the minister had a duty to appoint one nominee from the organisation which is “most representative of carnival bands” to the board.

In its lawsuit, the TTCBA claimed the minister’s decision was unorthodox, as she only had the power to make a two-year appointment and not a short-term one. They also argue the decision was illegal and beyond her powers under the act, since the NCBA does not constitute “one nominee from the organisation that is the most representative of carnival bands.” Attorneys representing the TTCBA are Shiv Sharma, Vivek Lakhan-Joseph and Priya Ramsahai.