Minister also awaits Pan Trinbago resolve

MINISTER of Community Development, Culture and the Arts Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, like National Carnival Commission (NCC) chairman Winston “Gypsy” Peters, has no intention of stepping in to resolve Pan Trinbago’s issues.

“Pan Trinbago is a private organisation,” she said. “It’s not an arm of the government. The ministry has no locus (authority) to intervene in its present governance situation. This impasse presents an opportunity for the pan fraternity to come together and make choices about how they want to organise themselves and be governed.”

With regard to the payments which are on hold, Gadsby-Dolly said it is her understanding that the outstanding expenses for Panorama 2018 exceed the remaining allocation by some millions of dollars. “Under these circumstances, the NCC is awaiting the directive from whomever is the authorised officer in the Pan Trinbago executive with respect to who should be paid, and when.

“It should also be noted that the gate receipts for Panorama 2018 were collected solely by Pan Trinbago. These funds usually amount to between two to three million dollars, which is expected to assist with the annual recurrent expenditure of the organisation, which includes some of the outstanding payments mentioned such as staffing, rent etc, much like a subvention which other NGOs receive.”