‘I will not entertain any overruns for August Fest’
Culture Minister, Myron Walwyn
The annual emancipation festivities are being scaled down this year, Education and Culture Minister Myron Walwyn has said.
The Miss BVI pageant and the annual August Monday Parade are the only two events confirmed for the festivities, so far.
“As it relates to the other activities, we are going to have to take a look at all of them; bearing in mind, of course, the proposed figures in the budget,” Walwyn said on Monday.
The minister said the budget for the festivities is yet to be finalized and will be discussed when the House of Assembly reconvenes this week.
However, he said the Virgin Islands Festival and Fairs Committee has been instructed to be more prudent with their spending.
“I made it clear to them that I will not be entertaining any overruns for festival going forward; particularly in light of the challenges that the territory has found itself in as a result of the hurricanes last year,” Walwyn said.
He said the committee is now in the process of drafting a report on ‘what the festivities will look like’ this year.
The report should be ready in the next two weeks, Walwyn added.
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Is like ayo aint learn from the August floods and IrMaria.
like you did with the wall
LIKE WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
How come he never say that about the wall?
Ayo best bet for festival this year is to pay a man wid a set in he Jeep to blast music while ayo wukup in Ceto parking lot or something.
They going save the big fete for election year where all the politicians will be grinding on you and sipping out ya fish soup bowl like ayo is kin. Think I lie? Watch, they’ll find the money for it then, good fiscal quarter or bad.
Once bitten twice shy.
Can we talk about 2017 Outstanding bills????
You make me laugh myron.
Is people like why the country don’t got no money in it
I agree with exactly what Myron is doing. I believe there should only be the beauty pageant, village and the parade.
I agreez. We need the parade and crown the best whisker biscuit.
The Festival and Fairs Committee, including the sub-committees,should have always been required to operate within assigned budgets and held accountable for over expenditures. How can you spend money you don’t have? Spending money you don’t have is an unauthorized procurement. You can’t spend money you don’t have and money has to spent for its intended purpose. The various
This should have been the policy all along. The Festival and Fairs Committee, including sub-committees, should operate within assigned budget. You can’t spend money you don’t have and money should be spend for its intended purpose. Overspending an assigned budget without approval is an unauthorized procurement.
MECs (past and present) were/are enablers of the over expenditures. The Committee knows that if it over spends it will be covered; its unauthorized actions will be ratified. Set the bar, the standard and hold fast.
Ok. Should this year Emancipation Festival be cancelled? Do we celebrate Festival in memory of the blood, sweat and tears of our foreparents? Do we celebrate it as a respite of our problems? Do we see it as a business opportunity? Should some of the cost of Festival be shifted to the private sector? Should it be a statutory body? Do we have too many statutory bodies? Are statutory bodies more efficient and effective than departments?
Personally, I think festival needed scaling back for some time now. I live in Road Town and on the nights when there was no entertainment, they just blasted music until 2 am. If there are empty nights with no show that a waste of electricity and the village isn’t making money because only people with young kids go in those nights. The nights when there was entertainment, it often started late and ended late. From my understanding, the noise curfew for village is 2am but sometimes the performer wasn’t coming onstage until 2am. All that nonsense need to stop. Condense the activities so that the village never has an empty night and make sure the performers are on stage performing on time so village can close on time. If they come too late to perform a full set subtract that from their pay and if they can’t perform at all because if the time limit, cancel their performance and don’t pay them. It’s disrespectful to have people up all 4am with noise when curfew is 2am.
Also, we need to have one parade and one festival. It’s one country, stop splitting the place. The parades and events have gotten so lackluster and I think it’s partly because there’s just too much going on all over the place. Some people save their money to go festival on one part of the island and don’t turn up to the other parts. Just make it one big thing and make it livelier.
Cut out all the unnecessary activities unless they are sponsored by a group other than government.
Lastly, please have some sort of conduct rules for Jouvert and parade. The behaviour in the past has been very disgusting. I know adults like to be adults and get wild in an adult way but children are in the parade and watching the parade as well. They’re seeing this behaviour and what do you think they’re concluding? As for jouvert, some things need to stay in the bedroom. The public is not place to have an orgy. This is isn’t Sodom or Gomorrah. I’m sure we can have fun without all the nakedness and dry humping.
Funny thing is, a lot of these woman wouldn’t even say hello to some of the men they let touch them on these days so what changes to make them those men acceptable then?
When the Minister’s marketing strategy is that Festival is going to be scaled down, does he think that attract people to come to this barely happening event? Trinidad, St. Vincent, St. Kitts Music Fest, St. Thomas Carnival happening as we speak, did Myron Walwyn see the advertisement marketing their cultural event? Nothing about how small it is going to be. My little BVI has gone to hell under NDP leadership. The one thing countries don’t diminish is their culture. That is what attract people to visit. To experience our vibrant culture. But we don’t have no culture. Who the hell are we? I wish someone will answer this very important question. We are lost as a people.
Sigh if only he said the same about all the much needed school repairs/ restoration projects….
Mr. WALL. “I” … Seems like “I” is the moniker for this eg——- c—. You did not elect your dam self. A lot w— than overrun have occurred and happened on your watch.
Where are the people we ‘attract’ gonna sleep? No, this year is for US, a community party, to celebrate the strength and resiliency that came from our forbearers.
Now who’s got a pig to grease?
Sir, decent folks are tired of festival foolishness….some of the type of things that our tax dollars fund are unacceptable, and even if those who love slackness are taxpayers also, there is a standard that should be upheld..the BVI shouldn’t be continuing on a path of “anything goes” behavior funded by the public purse. Not after the August Monday Flood last year, not after Irma and Maria…you should be concerned about content as well, not just overuns.
Didn’t we already pay the artists who were not able to perform in East End and Carrot Bay last year? Why not use them?
Concerned:
Absolutely factual in all aspects.
Leaders/officials, do take note and act accordingly.
… anymore