IT HAD TO BE FREE

Sep 11, 2008 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport is a cut above his PPP colleagues. He comes across as someone who does not have the same level of suspicion of outsiders as do some of the leaders of the PPP.

He strikes you as possessing a different political pedigree and someone who will set higher standards and who is capable of moving beyond the narrow confines of the politics of insecurity which imprisons so many within the leadership of his party.

Not many people may know it, but Bharrat Jagdeo owed his elected terms to two individuals who almost single-handedly worked to secure his election in 2001 and his re-election in 2006. Those two individuals are Dr. Bheri Ramsaran and Dr. Frank Anthony.

These were the men that were the workhorses behind the PPP election victory in both of these elections and both men ought to have been given ministerial positions much earlier.

Both men have, upon assuming ministerial office, done a tremendous job. I was listening a few nights ago to a programme being hosted by Dr. Ramsaran and I was greatly impressed by the process that he is adopting in responding to the many challenges within the health sector.

I saw on that programme, photographic evidence of the great work being done in terms of improving the regional health system, and from how I observed Dr. Ramsaran handle questions and the answers he gave, he is someone who understands health management, much more than what he is being given credit for.

Of the two ministers, Dr. Anthony has however been more in the limelight and he seems also to handle the public with an assured sense of confidence that is lacking in many government leaders.

He of course had his hands full with Carifesta and it this event for which he is now once again being put under the spotlight.

Yesterday, there was a letter in the press written by Mr. Kit Nascimento calling for accountability in respect to the funds spent during the hosting of Carifesta. This call was also echoed by the Chairman of the Alliance For Change, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan.

Frank Anthony as the subject minister for culture has therefore been put under the spotlight and I am sure that he will respond candidly. I am confident that he will ensure that those responsible for the funds spent during Carifesta give a full account of this spending.

While there were problems with Carifesta, very few will deny that it was an overwhelming success. This is the second major undertaking by Frank Anthony since assuming the post of Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport and he has clearly once again shown that he and his ministry have what it takes. He did an excellent job in successfully hosting Cricket World Cup 2007 and now he did a great job for Carifesta X.

I believe that he will therefore ensure that the Carifesta Secretariat produce a detailed account of its spending for this event and that these accounts will be subject to the scrutiny of the Auditor General’s Office.

Carifesta X was hastily organized and therefore there would have been a great many things for which goods and services had to be hurriedly procured, thus having to bypass the lengthier and more transparent tender processes

Not everything, I believe, had to be paid for. I am sure that there are some things which were given to the Secretariat at no cost, as a service to the nation.

Certainly, for example, I do not believe that the organizers would have had to pay for a twelve-page advertisement that was posted in the Guyana Times newspaper.

I am sure that one was done as a public service, and I am sure the records will confirm this. It had to be a free advertisement.

After all, if the organizers had to pay for that twelve-page ad, why would they choose a paper which was recently formed and which is not yet believed to have established any significant circulation, relative to the other newspapers which did not get that twelve-page insert.

I therefore wait with bated breath the full account of how much was spent during Carifesta and also how much was foregone.

We were told that some 500,000 persons attended the many events. Now if an average cost of $1000 was charged for each event, the proceeds would have amounted to $500M, which may have been sufficient to cover the overall outlay of the festival.

However, there were no such proceeds since tickets were free. But I am sure we will learn more of these when the detailed accounts are made public.

I am sure also in those accounts will be the public services provided free of cost to the festival, including perhaps that twelve-page ad?

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