Gail Alexan­der

Con­tro­ver­sial Ja­maican dance­hall artiste Mava­do, who has been banned in T&T, was al­lowed here for a "one-off" con­cert af­ter his man­age­ment and pro­mot­ers re­quest­ed this, Na­tion­al Se­cu­ri­ty Min­is­ter John Sandy con­firmed yes­ter­day. Re­ply­ing to an Op­po­si­tion ques­tion in the Low­er House, Sandy said the ban on Mava­do, al­so known as David Con­stan­tine Brooke, had not been lift­ed.

Sandy said, how­ev­er, that an "ac­com­mo­da­tion" was made for Mava­do's en­try to T&T, af­ter sub­mis­sions by his man­age­ment team and show pro­mot­ers, in­clud­ing Tri Star Pro­mot­ers and Tar­iff Pro­mo­tions. PNM MP Don­na Cox asked Sandy if he was aware that Mava­do had been banned in Guyana, St Vin­cent, the Ba­hamas and oth­er places be­cause of his pro-gun, vi­o­lent and an­ti-gay lyrics. Sandy said he was not aware of this. He said he did not even know who Mava­do was.