The Editor

 Newsday Newspapers

Patraj Trace

El Socorro.

 

Dear Sir

 

Please permit me space in your widely read newspaper to comment on a headline story in another newspaper on 2017 October 30.

 

OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF PAN TRINBAGO – MR. KEITH DIAZ

 

After reading the Headline story in the Express Newspaper of 2017 October 30 captioned PANDEMONIUM AT PAN TRINBAGO AGM, I must make public our telephone conversation of 2017 August 23, in which you agreed with me that you would step down as President of Pan Trinbago.

 

Since assuming office in 2009, the organization, Pan Trinbago has been in a constant downward slide and you seem to be unable to stop the slide.

 

Looking back, under your leadership all the gains and strides that were made by Pan Trinbago have been destroyed, and may I say that as a person who has been in the Pan vineyard for a number of years, you Mr. Diaz had the best opportunity of all presidents of Pan Trinbago to make the organization a success, but you have failed our organization miserably. Let me explain.

 

1.      You had the support of two (2) governments

2.      You had the support of the Business community

3.     You had the support of the whole pan movement

4.     You had money (The most amount of money that has ever passed through the coffers of

Pan Trinbago, was under your stewardship)

 

I would like to remind you of the following events that were on the Pan Calendar which are no longer in existence: 

(a)    Pan in the 21st Century                                       -                 GONE

(b)   Pan Down Memory Lane                                    -                 GONE

(c)    Steel Band Music festival                                   -                 GONE

(d)   Champs in Concert                                                -                 GONE

(e)    Pan Yard Sensations                                              -                 GONE

(f)     Pan Jazz In De Yard                                                 -                 GONE

 

Also GONE is the Pan Players stipend of $1000.00

 

In addition to the above, there has been no growth in the organization.  Not one (1) young person has benefitted from a scholarship sponsored by Pan Trinbago, as the former President Mr. Patrick Arnold did during his tenure.  Further, no National Pan Tuning Program has been conducted under your leadership, and this was imperative as so many of our master tuners have gone to the great beyond e.g. Herman “Guppy” Brown, Lincoln “Delgado” Noel, Edward “Peas” Alvarado “Zuzie”, the great Bertie Marshall and others whose names I cannot remember.  This alone should have propelled you to do something for Pan as alluded to by Len “Boogsie” Sharpe since 2011 or there about.  Given the current trend, soon we’ll be importing Pan from the United States. 

 

 

 

 

There are three (3) other major issues on which I would like to jolt your memory Mr. President.

 

1.     The eye sore that stands on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway. If every year since 2010, $1M was invested in that building from the profits of Panorama, it would have been completed.

2.     If the drum making machine that was donated by N.P. was put into good use, Pan Tuners would not have to be struggling to get drums to make instruments.  Not 1 pan even to put condensed milk in has been made.

3.     If so much money was not lost in the Trinidad & Tobago/Africa Pan Manufacturing Company,

4.      the organization would have been in a better financial position.  These funds could have been used to re-vitalise PAN WORKS LTD, Pan Trinbago’s Pan Manufacturing company.

 

In closing, for once Mr. Diaz please live up to your promise, your word, Just Go, Just leave. You have failed our organization, you cannot restore it. You have taken Pan Trinbago backward 50 years.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Withfield Weekes

Former Education Officer Pan Trinbago (expelled)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Replies

  • EVERYBODY picking on Aquil and the man is not even PRESIDENT yet. I doh see NOBODY saying ONE BAD WORD about KEITH DIAZ on this FORUM.

    • Claude, I'm not picking on Aquil.  Using his words, it's one love.

      • Mis Ingrid, your pictures profile is stunning. So for you is not one love, it is two , three, four till infinity of love. For Mr Claude an the rest the will all share that one love thing. Lol
        • Aquil: Ingrid say that she is coming to Trinidad just to meet you, personally. What kinda magnet yuh have boy. If you keep going like that you could be the first real GLOBAL LEADER OF PAN in history. Even Russell Providence starting to praise you -- and bugs and Cecil and everybody else just tooting yuh horn here on the forum.

          Like I is the only one who refuse to drink the CIP COOL AID.

          • Claude, as I'll be in Trinidad anyway, I'll meet up with Aquil and, if possible, Gregory.  After all, it's better to have aace to face dialogue rather than via cyberspace.

    • Diaz is your sole domain...

      • Ay, Merrytones,

        Who is dis Diaz fella Claude always bragging about?

        Is this the same Rolly Polly gangsta that faked a heart attack when the Honorable Boss Dr. Minister put her foot down and the player's checks started bouncing like Golden State basketballs?

        bugs

        • Leave me outta your "fake heart attack" story bro...

          • merrytonestothebone: This is a little bit of a different angle. But all my life I have always been fascinated by people who LIKE SOMETHING -- whatever it is, no moral judgement. And I have admired people for being obsessed with things. And I always try to measure how much they genuinely like THE THING and how much is PRETENSE.

            And when ah finally decide that somebody really really like something, I always admire the person for their passion. So you see how many filters I have. For example, I really really like CALYPSO and it is really hard for me to really believe that anybody else in the world like calypso the way I like calypso -- although I know that there has to be others.

            And I just decided that you really really LIKE THE PAN TING!!! That must be very painful given these currents!!!

            • Claude...I doh know that I like pan any more than you or the next poster on the discussion board...What I do know is that I don't mix matters with fairplay...And that goes beyond pan too... I don't like retting involved in anything where anyone an unfair advantage over me...

This reply was deleted.