This came from Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Neville Wisdom on Thursday as he was poised to leave the day session of the Progressive Liberal Party Convention at the Wyndham Nassau Marriott Resort and Crystal Palace Casino.
Prior to speaking with him, the Guardian visited the Roots Junkanoo shack on Thursday afternoon to talk to its leader Leslie Johnson, and were told by a Roots member that Johnson preferred not to address the issue, as negotiations on this issue were still ongoing with the Ministry.
However, Minister Wisdom said that the decision is final and considers it a “good deal”.
He confirmed that he has been approached by various groups, including the National Junkanoo Committee regarding the situation.
“The Government of The Bahamas made a Cabinet decision, as it normally does to provide bleachers for Junkanoo. The Government also decided to award a contract to a 100 per cent Bahamian owned company, C3,” said Minister Wisdom.
The five year contract allows for the provision of the seating and also for ticketing, and out of the ticket sales, the Government would get 10 per cent of the gross annually.
“In past times, there has never been a profit out of Junkanoo ticket sales and so that is a step in the right direction. The bottom line is, it costs the tax payers nothing. There is nothing coming out of the public treasury and there will be bleachers. Further, we are empowering young Bahamians and providing business opportunities and employment opportunities for Bahamians,” said Mr. Wisdom.
Adding that at the end of the five year period, the contract makes provisions for the bleachers to become the property of the Government.
“There is no huge amount of profit that they will made out of renting the bleachers to Junkanoo. What the Junkanoo people will do is assist them in their overall plans going into the bleachering business. So when another event is held in Nassau, they will have the seats there to rent,” he said. “The Government wants to help to empower Bahamians.”
He also confirmed that the cost of some of the tickets will be reduced as stipulated in the contract. This includes the seating for Rawson Square.
There are many challenges for the Junkanoo parades he said. Noting that the Government has to find some $800,000 in prize and seed money.
“Junkanoo is happening all over this country. The Bahamas is not just New Providence and we are going to have parades all over this country and we are challenged to find the assistance that is required. The seating situation is a non-issue,” he said.
He however, acknowledged that a sponsor, who sponsors a particular Junkanoo group, has indicated that instead of sponsoring one group, because of the nature of their business, they want to make a contribution to the overall experience.
“In other words, they don’t want to be sponsors for one group; but they want to provide funding for Junkanoo, and it will be dispersed among all the groups. That’s what’s happening,” he said.
“Additionally, you have to remember that one of the major reasons for all this planning is that this Government is interested in safety and planning and comfort for our children. We want to be sure that the whole experience, particularly the seating is insured,” he said.
He noted that in order to buy the insurance, the arrangements must meet the standards of the International Code Council (ICC).
Such information generated and proposed to the Minister of Works he said.
The ICC was established in 1994 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing a single set of comprehensive and coordinated national model construction codes.
The insurance, he said, is set to the value of $5 million.
“Safety and comfort. We’re talking about a no bottle, no alcohol and no drug zone where people are just able to come and bring their families and just enjoy a wonderful experience.”
Last year, there were very few arrests because of the policies put in place by the current Ministry he said.
“So I am encouraging the Junkanoo community to work with us to make this thing a good experience.”
By Vanessa Rolle, The Nassau Guardian
