It is unbelievable that Mr Keith Diaz and the executive of Pan Trinbago, after refusing to pay panmen for their 2016 Panorama performances, are trying to lay the blame on the Government.
Lest we forget, Pan Trinbago received almost $30 million from the Government to meet its 2016 commitments. A minimum payment of $1,000 is made to pan players for their many hours of practice and for performing in the Panorama preliminaries, semi-finals and finals.
While the executive of Pan Trinbago must have received their 2016 executive pay consistently, they have totally ignored the thousands of young people who willingly sacrifice and participate in Panorama.
Now there is talk about cutting the payment from $1,000 to $500 for 2017.
The Community Development Minister is right in not meeting with them. Mr Diaz must give an account of what happened to that $30 million.
More than 75 years after its invention, the body charged with the governance of the steelband in T&T still goes cap-in-hand every year to the government.
What a shame.
 
Linus F Didier,
Mt Hope