TUCO bows to Lady Gypsy

Steele gave the Trinidad Unified Calypsonian Organisation (TUCO) 24 hours to disqualify Lorna “Fya Empress” Nedd Reid as Steele claimed Nedd Reid was not a TT national and therefore not qualified to compete.

Yesterday, Lady Gypsy’s lawyer Gerald Ramdeen wrote TUCO threatening to go to the High Court for an injunction to disqualify Nedd Reid from performing in the finals. Facing litigation, TUCO bowed to Lady Gypsy and upgraded her from reserve to full finalist.

Ramdeen confirmed to Newsday that TUCO acceded to his pre-action protocol letter and informed his client she is now one of the 15 finalists.

Steele, who was a contestant at the Calypso Fiesta competition last Saturday at Skinner Park, San Fernando, placed 16th after the judges’ scores were tallied with a total of 389 points. Ramdeen, in his letter to TUCO, said Steele secured the same score as Anthony “All Rounder” Hendrickson who placed 15th. Ramdeen said there was no explanation from TUCO as to how All Rounder - with the same score - ranked above Lady Gypsy who placed 16th.

Ramdeen said Nedd Reid, who placed eighth in the semis, is not a TT citizen and according to TUCO’s own rules, she was not qualified to take part in the competition. “The nationality criteria for a competition such as the National Calypso Monarch Competition is a requirement that is grounded in logic and reasonableness having regard to the status and nationalistic persona of the person holding that title,” Ramdeen said.

“The rules of the competition could not have been made to be honoured in breach,” he added.

According to Ramdeen, checks at the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) shows Nedd Reid is not on the registered electoral list. He said further checks revealed that Nedd Reid was a citizen of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

He also noted that TUCO, in response to his client, demanded that Steele provide ‘proof ’ of her claims but ignored the fundamental principle that each contestant is to be accorded fundamental fairness where entitlement is grounded in the rules of the competition. Efforts to reach both Steele and Nedd Reid last night for comment were futile.