In a second letter sent to the minister on Monday, groups demanded a piece of the Junkanoo pie or they promised to bring next month’s parades to a standstill.
Two weeks ago, Mr. Wisdom announced that a contract was awarded to Bahamian-owned C3 Co. Ltd. to provide seating for an estimated 10,000 spectators and to also handle ticketing for the next five years. The deal also allows the government to eventually own the bleachers.
Last year, the minister came under heavy scrutiny for how he handled those parades, particularly for the rental of bleachers for $1 million from a Canadian company.
Upon hearing the announcement through the media, local groups united to voice their concerns about the decision, which they felt was leaving the annual Christmas festival broke.
The Guardian obtained a letter sent by a leader of the Saxons Superstars group to other group leaders, urging them to “take a stance and say no to what the minister is trying to push down our throats.”
After voicing their concerns in writing, group representatives met with Mr. Wisdom last week, but it seemed as if no resolution was reached, according to sources.
In another letter to the minister, they reiterated their concerns and outlined a proposal to allow a Junkanoo administration ﾗ either the NJC or Junkanooers themselves ﾗ to control 20 per cent of the profits the first year, 40 per cent the second, 60 the third, 80 the fourth and 100 per cent the fifth of the five-year contract.
The letter expressed the groups’ “discomfort with the sensitivity of your ministry’s actions.” It continued: “Fundamentally, the actions demonstrated utter disregard and a complete lack of respect for Junkanoo and our sponsors.”
It further accused the ministry of failing to inform or consulate with members of the NJC, which also includes representatives from each Junkanoo group.
“Furthermore, the lack of consultation with us illustrates that the decisions were not made with the manufacturers of Junkanoo,” the letter read.
One group leader, prior to sending the letter, revealed that the groups’ main concern is that while the ministry continues “to cry broke,” an independent company, regardless to whether it is Bahamian-owned or not, is “taking the money and putting it into their pockets,” rather than back into the festival.
“He (Mr. Wisdom) says that these bleachers are free, but it is still leaving us broke. That money should be put into seed money, which he says is lacking and the ministry has to be scrapping for,” said the group leader.
The leader of the Saxons, in his letter, said: “I have nothing against Bahamians trying to empower themselves on the economic pie of today, but not by exploiting the talents of so many others…. Let’s unite and fight what is going on in Junkanoo.”
Assuring that he would do nothing to “hurt the spirit of Junkanoo,” Minister Wisdom on Monday said, historically, the Government has always provided seating for the parades, and that only now it decided to hire an outside company to do so.
“We’re using another system. Instead of contracting crane operators, we have contracted a 100 per cent Bahamian company to provide seating that is more comfortable, more safe and at no cost to the tax payer,” said Mr. Wisdom.
When the contract expires, the Government will then own the bleachers, which have a 20-year warranty, and will receive 10 per cent of the ticket sales, he said.
According to Mr. Wisdom, C3 will also service the bleachers to Government-related, like sporting events, and non-Government-related events. To this end, he said the contract would also serve to “propel” C3’s business.
Unaware of any plots of boycott by Junkanoo groups, Mr. Wisdom advised group leaders and members to better understand that “the world of Junkanoo” is not only limited to Nassau, and that there are bigger challenges than seating, such as funding.
Asked whether he would amend the contract to include groups into the equation as to generate ticket revenue back into the festival, Mr. Wisdom was not affirmative. Even if the contract was still under negotiation, he said it would be impossible because seating is not a “revenue producer.”
And, in response to claims of lack of consultation, Mr. Wisdom said that with so many independent Junkanoo associations, it would be impossible to speak with each Junkanooer, which was the reason the NJC was created. To this extent, a consultative meeting on Monday was the most recent he had with NJC executives.
He did, however, offer this apology: “If there is someone in the Junkanoo community that feels that they have been slighted or not consulted, I apologise to them, certainly.”
By Khashan Poitier, The Nassau Guardian
