Less $$ for Carnival events

KALIFA CLYNE

Trinidad Carnival, touted as the greatest show on earth, has taken another financial hit as Finance Minister Colm Imbert yesterday announced a cut by one-third in financial donations for all events which receive sponsorship from his ministry and its agencies.

The decrease in sponsorship is expected to apply to events sponsored by all government agencies.

Asked about sponsorship and donations typically given by government agencies, Imbert said: “I can’t tell you whether this particular event gets sponsorship from other agencies or other enterprises but it would be a general policy that would be coming out of the Ministry of Finance that we have to reduce the amount of the contributions across the board to all of these organisations.”

This means, Chutney Soca Monarch, which received $1.5 million last year from the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) will receive $1 million for 2018 and the International Soca Monarch (ISM) competition which received $2.5 million will receive $1.8 million.

Yesterday, event organisers for both events said they would have meetings this morning before taking any decisions as to whether the competitions would proceed.

In a brief telephone interview, ISM organiser Peter Scoon said his team would take Imbert’s announcement under consideration and have a meeting to rework the figures to see if it was feasible to host the event.

“They are dropping one-third and that is one thing but the police, the fire services, the national stadium and service providers are not dropping one-third off their fees. We have to do quick work to talk to the entities to see if we can make it work.”

The special interest groups, PanTrinbago, the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO) and the National Carnival Bands Association (NCBA) will also receive a cut in sponsorship funds at the same rate.

Carnival special interest groups receive state sponsorship in addition to state subventions from the National Carnival Commission.

Last year Arts Minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, in Parliament said that of a $168 million budget, Pan Trinbago was allocated $23 million, the NCBA was allocated, about $9 million and another $7.3 million was allocated to TUCO.

The NCC is expected to receive a similar allocation of $160 million this year, just half of what it received in 2015, a figure that ballooned from what Imbert recalled was $8 million in 1992.

However the funding of private events such as the soca monarch and chutney soca monarch competitions will soon be under review.

Imbert said a new board of the NLCB would be installed soon, adding that his ministry would raise the issue of the use of NLCB’s funds with the new board in terms of policy and direction that they should go in.

“What I have discovered is that most of these shows depend on the Government almost exclusively. It is something we as a country have to look at, what should the NLCB funds be used for.”

The NLCB is allowed to spend a percentage of its income on donations but Imbert said he was sympathetic with the point of view that the funds of the NLCB should be used for community and cultural ventures and not for profit-making shows. “Most of these promoters will say that they are not making a profit and are doing this as a form of giving back, but that is a very interesting point as to whether the funds of the NLCB should be used for events like this or should go to assist villages in need or communities and that kind of thing.

“My own personal view is that it should go toward charitable causes and community events.”

Imbert said it was not compulsory for the Government to sponsor any of these events at any specific figure but the Government uses its discretion to be balanced and reach as many groups as possible.

“We cannot spend what we used to spend, we have to balance. There are demands everywhere so everybody will have to adjust.”