Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Neville Wisdom has categorised the Boxing Day Parade as a success, even though many sections of the $1 million bleachers went unfilled.
“We’ve been able to accomplish a number of things,” he said. “We identified early in the Junkanoo season, 13 major problems in Junkanoo and we attempted to address 11 of them and I think we have been relatively successful in accomplishing all we have set out to do,” he said.
There were no major incidents to report regarding the bleachers. The arrangement seemed to have gone smoothly, with many spectators praising the new arrangements.
Mr. Wisdom has taken the brunt of public criticism aimed at the government for its decision to rent the costly bleachers.
He was criticized by opposition members of parliament, including the Member for North Abaco Hubert Ingraham, for renting the foreign bleachers.
According to Mr. Ingraham, Bahamians who previously carried out the work depended on that job to put a little extra money in their pockets around Christmas time.
There were some bleachers that did not fill up, as Ministry officials had expected. Although the bleachers along Rawson Square were filled, the sky box which cost $7,500 for a group of 20, was virtually empty. Some ticket holders were apparently not too pleased, with the arrangement.
Bleacher seating in section ‘F’ and ‘G’ on the western part of Bay Street – in the front of the old straw market site – were virtually empty along with bleachers in the area of CIBC on Shirley Street.
Following the New Year’s Day Parade the bleachers will be returned to Canada.
Mr. Wisdom maintains that the new bleachers provided spectators safety, security and comfort.
“They are able to jump and bounce and enjoy themselves,” he said. “The FNM can say what they want to, but Junkanoo has gone to a new level.”
Minister Wisdom said that it was too early to say how much money the Junkanoo events have raised so far.
But he said, “at the end of the day the bleacher rental is not expected to cost Bahamian taxpayers’ one single penny.”
By Tosheena Blair, The Bahama Journal
