Moonilal: Honour Sprangalang with entertainment plan

OROPOUCHE East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal on Saturday urged the Government to honour the memory of veteran comedian Dennis "Sprangalang" Hall with a proper plan to help members of the country's entertainment sector to continue their livelihood during the covid19 pandemic.

Moonilal made this call to the Government during a virtual pre-budget consultation at his constituency office in Debe on Saturday. Hall died on Friday at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope.

After extending condolences to Hall's family and friends, Moonilal declared, "It is high time that this Government outlines some kind of plan to support the entertainment sector and you can do that in honour of Sprangalang."

Moonilal observed many members of this sector are facing challenging times because of the pandemic. He said Government can provide policy and a support policy framework to support entertainers, in providing their services and goods. He added, "They can do that even virtually." Moonilal said a good example of this was producing music in a studio setting, which can conform with covid19 protocols

While agreeing with the Prime Minister that Carnival 2021 cannot be held in its normal form because of covid19, Moonilal reiterated Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar's call for a virtual Carnival next year. "Our virtual Carnival, in some cases might be more dynamic for the global audience, than the traditional Carnival."

Observing the success that Indian Premier League and Caribbean Premier League cricket have had without live audiences, Moonilal said it was not impossible for various Carnival performers to perform only in the presence of judges and those performances be broadcast globally. He suggested this could also be a way of generating foreign exchange for TT.

Moonilal also said it was unfortunate that veteran comedian and entertainer Errol Fabien was"thrown out of his house in St Joseph last week. After thanking good Samaritans who came to Fabien's aid, Moonilal said this underscores the need to protect TT's entertainers during difficult times.

Moonilal agreed with former Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh who, earlier in the consultation, described Government's inability to provide laptop computers to students as disgraceful. "Policy is not connected to the problem." He suggested Government make soft loans available to people working in local and central government, so they could purchase laptops for their children.

In his contribution, Gopeesingh said he could not disagree with Dr Rowley's point that Carnival 2021 should not take place because of uncertainty with the pandemic.