The Joint Select Committee (Group 1) has asked the National Carnival Bands' Association (NCBA) and the National Carnival Commission (NCC) to submit detailed accounts on expenditure of approximately $69 million in Government subventions over the past three years. The requests were made at the 13th meeting of the JSC, attended by representatives from the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism and the NCC.
Questions about spending were raised by Port-of-Spain North MP, Patricia McIntosh, and Independent Senator Professor Harold Ramkissoon. McIntosh said the NCBA had not been held accountable for its spending and used large sums of taxpayers' money without submitting detailed annual reports. Since 2010, she said, the NCBA has received $23.6 million in Government funding.
Ramkissoon was concerned about the vast difference between the projected cost of rebuilding the Grand Stand in the Savannah this year and the much greater actual cost. The estimated cost of the project was $21 million while the actual cost, as stated by NCC deputy chairman Don Sylvester, was $46 million. Sylvester pointed out the contract and supporting documents for the North and Grand Stand constructions had been previously submitted and the final cost of the Grand Stand in 2012 was $46 million.
He denied the final cost greatly exceeded the budget and said under-estimates had been made on the initial project. Ramkissoon also questioned the cost of the stage, which was rented annually for $3 million, although a steel stage, he said, built specifically for Carnival, was stored in a rented warehouse. He noted taxpayers would be saved $2 million if the stored stage was used.
JSC chair, Corinne Baptiste-McKnight, pointed out to Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism deputy permanent secretary, Desdra Bascombe, that all entities under the ministry failed to submit annual reports of programmes and expenditures.
