San Fernando Mayor Says Carnival Will Go On
“We will make do with it.”
That’s the response from San Fernando Mayor Robert Parris, stressing the need for the San Fernando Carnival Committee to get value for money to ensure its Carnival can go on, despite what he claimed were reduced funding.
On Wednesday, Minister of Culture and Community Development Michelle Benjamin noted that despite the announcement from the San Fernando Carnival Committee to suspend the competitive aspect of its celebrations due to reduced funding, she assured that the revelry in South Trinidad will continue as planned.
Speaking at a media conference on Thursday, San Fernando Mayor Robert Parris said the city will scale down some measures to ensure Carnival continues, even noting that last year its Carnival Committee was forced to relocate major events to keep costs within budget.
This year, though, he said the Committee will ensure monies are spent wisely.
« So I was quite clear and concise in stating $700,000 is not enough to run Carnival, and we will make do with it. However, my only request to the San Fernando Carnival Committee is to look at new suppliers whereby we could get the same quality supplies in terms of infrastructure at a cheaper cost or go to the persons that regularly supply us and negotiate because we should never run a committee, just like we should never run a business in debt. »
The Mayor also said that he remains open to meeting with the Minister.
« The floor was open, and the stakeholders indicated that perhaps we should forego the competitive aspect of the Carnival, still conducting Carnival. However, what we should do is invite members of the Government and invite the world to see why San Fernando Carnival is worth more. »
