NDP members recall days of ‘transparent’ festival funding

Some members of the National Democratic Party (NDP) have voiced concern over what they describe as a continued lack of transparency around festival funding in the BVI, pointing to the late Eileene Parsons as an example of openness during her time overseeing cultural celebrations in the 1970s.

Successive administrations have been criticised for failing to clearly account for the public funds spent on the annual Emancipation celebrations and other government-sponsored festivals. The current administration, led by Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley, has also faced scrutiny for not delivering on promises to provide detailed funding reports for various government-funded music festivals.

Former government minister Archibald Christian, speaking on the NDP radio show, praised Parsons’ leadership and transparency, noting that she took just two weeks after festival events to publish full accounting statements.

“We didn’t have government subventions for festival back in those days, but Mrs. Parsons was able to get the business community to give contributions,” Christian said. “The thing that amazed me about Mrs. Parsons was that two weeks after the festival, she would publish a statement in the newspaper showing our income and expenditure.”

He added: “With all the technology and bright minds we have right now, if you get it (statements) in two years, you’d be lucky.”

At-Large Representative Ronnie Skelton, who was also mentored by Parsons, agreed with Christian’s remarks and emphasized that she upheld accountability throughout the entire festival planning process.

He recalled how Parsons would recruit several individuals to count festival earnings and would assign a trusted group to deposit those earnings at the bank on the same night the events ended.

In the meantime, Skelton expressed his belief that many of the current leaders who were mentored by Parsons continue to conduct government business with the same level of integrity she demonstrated.

“If you look at us, we all ended up following that model. We don’t want to play with government funds and that kind of stuff,” Skelton said.