The Minority Council of the Tobago House of Assembly wants the Secretary of Tourism to name the private promoter who is partnering with the Tobago Festivals Commission to host the Tobago Rhythm and Soul Festival.
On Monday, Minority Leader Kelvon Morris raised several concerns about the management of the $9.3 million event.
He recalled that during last Thursday’s Assembly sitting, the Minority Council requested the information. However, Tourism Secretary Tashia Burris noted she was not prepared to respond to the question as it was not included in the Order Paper.
“You are the one who are bringing to the public’s attention for the very first time that this event involved a private promoter. You would think that logic suggests the next reasonable question that will come after you put that information into the space is who is this promoter. Yet clearly, based on the Secretary’s response, you are seeing an unwillingness to provide that very simple answer.”
Secretary Burris promised to provide the information at a later date and, in a release on Monday, stated that the information was submitted to the Clerk of the House for onward transmission to the Minority as per standard Assembly Legislature procedure.
However, Mr. Morris stated, “The Clerk is on record as confirming he has not received any communication, not by hand nor by email, so who did the Secretary give this correspondence to? And where is this correspondence that the Secretary claims to have submitted one hour, one hour after the question was asked?”
The Tobago Festivals Commission also issued a release explaining that they received a business proposal for reggae artist Buju Banton to perform, adding the promoter will secure the artist, and he will receive compensation for the performance.
The Minority believes the information being shared by the Tourism Division and the TFCL is contradictory.
“The Secretary is saying no, the promoter is producing the show and we are simply providing them with financial assistance—that is the impression if you listen to her response. But Festivals Commission is saying it is the other way around – we are producing this show and the promoter is assisting us by procuring, by getting this artiste that we are interested in.”
Mr. Morris made it clear that he was pleased with the marketing of the event but stressed that the Minority is concerned about the manner in which information about the event’s management is being disseminated.
TTT News contacted Secretary of Tourism Tashia Grace Burris for information on the identity of the private promoter partnering with the Tobago Festivals Commission to host the Tobago Rhythm and Soul Festival.
Via WhatsApp, Ms. Burris asked that Tobago Festivals Commission Chief Executive Officer Kern Cowan be contacted for this information. Mr. Cowan has since indicated he will be issuing a statement soon.
Responding to claims by the Minority that no correspondence was received by the Clerk of the House nor the Minority, Secretary Burris said the response was sent to the official email address of the Clerk at 3:04 pm on the afternoon of last Thursday, January 23rd. She said this was done despite the Presiding Officer giving her a deadline of the sitting next month to submit the information.