Trinidad Newsday
A FORENSIC audit into Pan Trinbago is one of a raft of measures to ensure financial accountability in that cultural organisation Community Development, Culture and Arts Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly announced yesterday at the weekly post Cabinet press conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s.
While Pan Trinbago has received $87 million in Government subventions over the past three years, she said from now, payment to pannists will be made directly from the National Carnival Commission (NCC), bypassing Pan Trinbago, and will be subject to a verification exercise.
Gate receipts from Panorama 2016 - which PanTrinbago indicated to be $8.5 million - will be collected by the NCC and not PanTrinbago, as was the case in the past.
While she could not say exactly how many pannists were paid for performing at Panorama last year, she was confident the issue would not derail Carnival 2017. “The Cabinet has been noting with growing concern, allegations of financial mismanagement by Pan Trinbago,” said Gadsby-Dolly. “These concerns began when there was a public furore regarding non-payment of player remittances for 2016, and it has been steadily growing with allegations becoming more and more damning as time goes by,” she added.
“This is a valid concern to Cabinet, because PanTrinbago receives large amounts of public money,” the Minister said adding that Pan Trinbago’s allocations for hosting Panorama were $34 million, $30 million and $23 million for 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively.
Replies
Delegates decided at City Hall meeting that the show...Panorama 2017 goes on...at all costs....Remittances paid for 2016 or not....Bands are hell bent on going to Panorama....even though they do not know the terms and conditions of their engagement for the competition.....so what kinda panorama competition are we expecting if the players ain't feeling de vibe....because as Merrytones correctly opined..... The hustler's game is up...
I find for an amateur politician Claude, everything that I have recommended to the powers that be, has been implemented,..and I have also RETURNED the Government Grant of $20000.00 for unsponsored bands issued today back to the Culture Ministry...along with our Assistance Grant of $13500.00 back to NCC....in accordance with PanTrinbago Panorama Rules 2017.....
Todays Guardian, shows that in defiance PanTrinbago executives are in denial.....
Doctor PM and Minister Dolly bring that government audit on NOW Minister Dolly right now for that foolish insidious act of condemnation to accuse the intervenors of hostile takeover ...before those executive officers BURN DOWN de office like WASA...before de audit even start....... And let the chips fall where they may....for that outta timing remark....please madam...start the audit NOW.......Peace
$87M directly from the Government. Then you have to add the declared $8.5 million in gate receipts for 2016. And we could extrapolate another $16 million in gate receipts for 2014 and 2015 (combined). So now we are looking at about ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN MILLION DOLLARS passing through the hands of PAN TRINBAGO in the last THREE YEARS.
Now add to that another $20M (over three years) from SPONSORS -- so we could ball park about ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY MILLIONS DOLLARS landing in the PAN TRINBAGO coffers during that period.
All of this INCOME generated on the backs of 10,000 PAN MEN putting in MILLIONS of hours in practice and travel time to make PANORAMA an exercise in STEELBAND EXCELLENCE. And then they have to wait a year (and even march on Massa Diaz) to get $10M out of $130M -- NOT EVEN 10 PERCENT.
And then the Minister of Culture tells the PAN MEN that they have to wait until AFTER CARNIVAL to see WHEY DE MONEY GONE.
If DANE and GREGORY was REAL LEADERS they will tell PAN TRINBAGO and DOCTOR DOLLY that at least 30 percent of the 2017 revenues should go to the PAN MEN or they are NOT GOING TO PLAY THIS YEAR.
Doctor Dolly has repeated NUMEROUS TIMES that her BIGGEST CONCERN is having a SUCCESSFUL CARNIVAL. I think that gives PAN MEN a tremendous amount of LEVERAGE given the CENTRAL ROLE that PANORAMA plays in a SUCCESSFUL CARNIVAL.
Come on Gregory Lindsay: Show me some LEADERSHIP SKILLS and REPRESENT THE BEST INTEREST OF PAN MEN. Call a meeting! Call a March! Call a Strike! Because we know that once CARNAVAL DONE allyuh getting rest down like ah RUSTY OIL DRUM.
Do you think Pan Men understand the concept of "Time is MONEY" or as musicians their VALUE???
Time for some re-education.
All of this INCOME generated on the backs of 10,000 PAN MEN putting in MILLIONS of hours in practice and travel time to make PANORAMA an exercise in STEELBAND EXCELLENCE.
Blame the pan players themselves.
Well they should be.
How can members of an association allow the association heads to literally rob them of their just due?
Well as long as pan players get their measly pittance from the association, they happy like pappy.
Nobody is concerned or has been about the money PT receives from their various sources, government, panorama entrance fees, concessions etc, so they ran roughshod over the members, knowing full well that they can get away with it because no one is checking.
An audit will reveal so much corruption that nobody will know where to start.
But this is not only going on at PT. Every body that receives a subvention from the government is playing the same game.
The government gives these subventions because the heads of these organizations can go cap in hand, get money and then pretend that they do not have any, because no one is checking.
Sporting organizations do it, carnival institutions do it, all state entities do it, religious bodies, show promoters do it (why is the government involved in private promotions of shows that make enough money to pay their own way?). The problem is far reaching. In fact PT might be the least of the apostles. There are others receiving much more from the government without any accountability.
At least this revelation at PT will shake up the powers that be and force them to look for accountability and follow the trail to where the people's money went.
The paying of pan players is only a small percentage of the monies they receive. If they receive 30 million in subventions and another eight or nine million from gate receipts and pay out less than 10 million in players' fees, where is the rest of the money going? And why has no one questioned this before?
It is a situation ripe for the picking and someone has been exploiting the situation.
It's time to put a stop to it but the unfortunate thing is that PT will be made a scapegoat and whilst corrupt persons should be jailed and the key thrown away it's a real pity that this will be the only organization to suffer that fate.
The rest of the cockroaches will crawl into their little crevasses to hide.
Blame everybody. Not a single government system is working as it should today in trini, how on earth can you expect Pan-Trinbago to be doing great.
Thank you, Wayne