Greetings ...
An important update to the WST community
Please permit my frankness and brevity for an independent update to the WST diaspora from the ground in Port-of-Spain yesterday at an emergency meeting held yesterday at Communication Workers Hall on Henry Street. Seventy-nine bands in Attendance. Mr Salah Wilson can authenticate the validity of my report.
Again I say, What madness ensues for leadership and communication with the new governmental administration is only overshadowed by an entitlement culture promulugated by the dealing with this impasse on a piece meal basis due to a total lack of respect for the underbelly of the movement and by that extension the national instrument, in the way the PanTrinbago executive is being communiciated with. What madness is this!!!.A sure indication that Change is coming on the horizon.....
Again I reiterate....In 1979, when there was the precedent boycott,...imagine there was no panorama after prelims:The substantive topic was about prize money, the percentage of sponsored bands to unsponsored was much higher; Dr. Williams made his ruling and even through PM Williams tried to leverage corporate sponsors to impose their will on bands and 'toe the line' or lose their sponsorships regarding Panorama, then PanTrinbago Executive under the late Arnim Smith, held firm stood their ground in fulfiling their similar mandate and orchestras banded their bellies; bands came out on the road on Carnival Monday...and Desperadoes cross the Savannah stage on Carnival Tuesday and that evolved into a watershed day for our pan culture,...without an Act of Parliament!!.....
Ironically now to date......No audience with the Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar has been forthcoming with the PanTrinbago Executive, since the last correspondence from Pan Trinbago requesting such dated January 03, 2011. Absolute Nonsense...Stalling tactics... that is PP Government strategy. One of the substantive issues of the $1000.00 remittance has been promised by Vice President Serrette (who chaired the meeting in President Diaz's excused absence at an NCC meeting) as communiciated during the meeting. An adjusted prize schedule was proposed. A motion was made by Mr. Sam of Tunapuna All Stars and seconded by myself to review the proposal with an intent towards a more proportional representation of prize money across all categories. A vote was taken and it's back to the drawing board for the executive with a readjusted proposal to bring back to the membership, along with hopefully a report on an audience with PM Persad-Bissessar, supplemented with Salah's petition, for an answer this year, in this Panorama competition....not for next year's budget propsals as the Vice-President alluded to before correction....After Carnival Tuesday, Government not touching this hot potato until next year....mark my words....Timing is of the essence to a speedy resolution...Tick Tock Tick Tock.....
To my beloved Central Executive, act responsibly as leaders to the betterment of the movement......Press releases really need to come fast and furious from PanTrinbago media relations to the WST and national communities in the loop...As the pan approaches 75 years old....do you fully understand what is our position.....where do you need to be reminded of where we stand....Do you understand what you need to do. Stand up for our rights. You have the support from the membership's mandate to you.....please act accordingly. Negotiate well with the National Carnival Commission for all of the gate receipts and the lion's share for the beverage receipts at our Panorama events to sustain the transparent operations of our movement.
Let me say this unequivocally......PAN, as we know it, Is in Danger.......and the root of our community lies dormant.....a sleeping giant armed with an Act of Parliament and not realising knowing how to leverage that tool and innovate to the changing government,economic and business environment......
Please wake up pan people...We are all watching the house burning and waiting for what..only GOD alone knows......This forum has got to be vigilant and on fire.with communiciation from band managers...and people on the ground who can help and are committed like Mr. Salah Wilson and many others to building a momentum to ensure that the petition will add fuel to the fire, ignited by Minister Peters in turning the organization upside down and seeing what falls out...
Pan in Trinidad&Tobago and PanTrinbago will have to innovate or Die, .and some things regrettably seems on its way to its seemingly natural departure as we know it......Arising sleeping giants of the fratenity and sleep no more on then we will certainly reap what we sow ,..for future generations.
There is change on the horizon....and resistance seems all but futile.......I am hopeful and praying that the PanTrinbago executive have the spine to fulfil its prophetic mandate given by its membership, grow some balls and step up to the plate and truly do something for pan without compromise.
But as a professional from where I stand on the ground and I am sure that my managerial steelband colleagues such as Mr. Michael Marcano from BP Renegades and Mr. Benn from Tropical Angel Harps and my others on the ground will agree.....It certainly is not looking so good..It looks horrific....Crisis is about to come knocking. The house is on fire.....Preliminaries for Single Pan will start today.... This is your last wake-up call...The pan world is watching....The clock is running Tick Tock.Tick Tock.....Let the games begin!
Replies
Well said Gregory, unfortunately, I am of the firm view that the die has already been cast, since we accepted the assistance for Panorama 2011. Anyone with any sense of how the bargaining process is done will KNOW that you do not accept any part of what you are asking for, it's the whole pie or nothing at all. The pan community has already lost the war. Pan Trinbago cannot now reverse the situation.
Just wait until the carnival is over, Pan Trinbago will be in an even greater financial crisis, with less resources to fund their projects with their agreeing to pay the $200.00 shortfall. If you think 2010 was a bad year, 2011 will be worse. I'll stop here.
Mr. Gregory Lindsay was very vocal and passionate with his presentation at the Pan Trinbago Executive meeting on Thursday.It is the democratic right of all Steelband representatives to push their organization in this case the Pan Trinbago. organization. On the other hand Pan Trinbago should welcome these confrontations from the membership because it shows that the membership is alive and not just a group of people who will just accept what is presented to them. this type of Dialogue can only open minds and lots of input will be forthcoming, the end point is that it will enhance the scope of information that can be gathered and put to use. I have my own take on some of the issues at the meeting that I will present on another post, But, like Mr. Lindsay stated the clock is running and we need to get going with the issues at hand.the petition,.... the meeting with the Prime Minister.etc....
Salah
I am
in full a greement with your article . The whole world is waiting and watching.A crisis is about to come knocking .What isPanTrinbago doing stop the panorama you all do not need the government the government needs you all.Ray from Cleveland OH.
PanTrinbago takes up $200 shortfall - PANTRINBAGO will be seeking to raise approximately $1.4 million extra in revenue from staging Panorama this year as the executive made the decision to make up the $200 shortfall for pan players' fees which were reduced by Cabinet late last year. etc. etc. etc. as reported in Today Newsday Newspaper
Greetings All,
I am glad to read this account because it agrees with what I said in the first place...////We have to mobilize ourselves and our supporters and take endless, continuous polls. But some preferred to return to the tried and failed ways of negotiating from on our knees, while our adverseries perpetually bolster their positions. Still, I am part of this body, and its demise affects I also. I still think we have to assert ourselves and get in the face of our adverseries. They threw the first blow, we have to parry and counter. We cannot counter effectively on/from our knees. Uhuru Harambee-Let's pull together for freedom-and dignity.
Rico I Ras Tafari SELASSIE I