Mas band audit after Carnival

The question of which mas body should sit on the National Carnival Commission (NCC) board will be determined after Carnival.

Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, in an interview, said the consultation process to determine which criteria is to be used for the membership audits can and will be done after Carnival.

"Based on our initial understanding, the consultation process to determine the criteria against which the membership audits are to be done can and will continue after Carnival," the minister told Newsday.

She was responding to questions following the High Court dismissal of a challenge of one of her decisions by one of the mas bands representative groups.

"The ministry's legal team obtained the written ruling when it became available and will make the recommendation on the way forward re board appointments," the minister said.

The minister’s decision to appoint a representative of the National Carnival Bands Association (NCBA) to the board of the National Carnival Commission (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.

The minister, in a previous interview, assured that the NCC will continue to run the mas aspect of Carnival 2018 with the input of all mas stakeholders.