NO $50,000 BOND FOR BANDS

The decision to cancel the bond came after a recent meeting between the Minister of Culture, Joan Yuille-Williams, and the two umbrella organisations for bands, the National Carnival Band Leaders Association (NCBA) and the National Carnival Development Foundation (NCDF).

Yesterday Yuille-Williams told Newsday about the decision: "I told the two organisations to stop playing politics and do everything in their power to make Carnival 2006 better than last year’s Carnival. That bond is out. I have asked them to work on the points deduction system and come back to me. I want transparency in this."

The minister also said that the interested parties held discussions concerning congestion from Memorial Park to the exit of the Savannah.

"We need to protect the mas players by keeping the crowd away from them. There are definitely too many photographers at the western end of the savannah stage. They block the free flow of the band off stage," she said.

The minister said they also discussed the prize structure for the Band of the Year.

"I feel we have to give the bands more incentive, $35,000 is just not enough. We also reached an agreement that the Kings and Queens should parade before the judges just once and not make that second trip," she said.

"Both sides know that whatever decisions were taken are in the best interest of Carnival (2006) and we will have to amend the act (NCC Act 9 of 1991) for the betterment of all involved. I have asked both sides to bring their suggestions to me," she noted.

The minister also said that her ministry would be concentrating on three projects after Carnival — "The National Performing Arts Centre, Pan Trinbago headquarters and the TUCO Convalescent Home for People in the Arts."

Last week, NCC chairman Kenny De Silva stressed that the bond was only a suggestion and no decision had been taken by the NCC to implement it.