NCF Deja Vu
Was I experiencing Déjà Vu?!….I could not believe my ears when I heard the announcement of the Chairman of National Cultural Foundation (NCF) Ken Knight.
Ken’s big announcement was that the NCF had gotten the novel idea to form a Festival Events Bureau to run Crop Over with a view to making a profit.
Why did Boyce think he went back in time?
That same Festival Events Bureau had been proposed by the NCF under the previous administration.
I remember being at a consultation on August 21st 2007 where the then PM and Minister of Culture Owen Arthur touted the so called benefits of this Festival Bureau with the same commercial objectives.
I am therefore at a loss how the existing government who had stated that they would divest Crop Over events and encourage entrepreneur participation should now turn around and adopt the same flawed policy document.
The actions of the NCF remind me of a book I read while at Combermere School.
In the George Orwell classic “Animal Farm”, led by the Pigs the animals take over the farm from the humans and at the end of the book the pigs become the exact copy of the same humans they had overthrown. Go and study that!
What the Festival Events Bureau seeks to do is drop the “burden mandate” of developing artistes and instead set up a draconian entity which seeks instead to generating a profit through exploitation of our cultural industries.
The “Festival Events” documents speaks of government producing music, supplying sound services and producing even more shows to compete against local promoters.
Is that something that we want?
If during the reading of this blog there is any thing I might have written which might have incensed or offended you, GET OVER IT! There are many things I read and hear in the media on a daily basis that I don't like either. SO DEAL WITH IT! You are welcome to leave your comments though. Make sure and come back yuh hear !!!...
August 8th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Where does the money come from to run this festival ??
August 8th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Rewind! Re! Re! Re! REWIND!!!!!!!!!! BLIP! BBBBBBBBBLIP!!! BLIP! BLIP!
And the beat goes on Peter!!!! You Edwin, Allison & the others just remember to keep fighting to ensure that the Bajan Beat Goes On!!!!!!!!!!!
NCF Powers dat maybe haffa be excused at this point in time, cause dah Big Guts still full from de free food & nasty rum from Crop Over! Yah know wah de old people say bout when ah fella guts full or when he stale drunk!!!!!!!! “He aint know what he saying or doing, Cood dear he did drunk………. Cood dear he guts did too full”!!!!!!!!!
Ah tell wonna tah lef dum! Dah soon sah!
August 8th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
If not for the tent managers n calypsonians you bet your bottom dollar that Crop Over would have flopped just as the NCF caused to the congaline festival