$$ saved from festival scale-down will pay outstanding bills
Walwyn
The monies that will be saved from scaling down the Virgin Gorda Easter Festival this year will be used to pay outstanding bills owed to vendors from last year’s staging, Culture Minister Myron Walwyn has said.
The ministry initially budgeted $100,000 to host this year’s festival.
“Based on what we decided to do, which is the gospel fest, the food fair with some entertainment, and the picnic with some entertainment, I don’t even think we would utilize a half of that amount of money,” Walwyn told BVI News.
“Virgin Gorda would have outstanding bills from last year so the difference out of that money ($100,000) would go towards paying outstanding bills,” he added.
The ministry announced Monday afternoon (February 26) that the main event at Easter Fest, which is the festival village, has been scrapped.
This is in recognition of the post-hurricane circumstances still affecting the BVI, the ministry explained.
The culture minister claims he made the decision to scale down festival more than a week ago after consulting with members of the Virgin Gorda community.
“We know that there are different views – some people want it others don’t. So, we struck a balance between the two,” he told BVI News.
The findings of a BVI News survey published last week revealed that majority of residents were against the event being held this year.
Sixty-three percent of the 162 residents invited to participate in the survey were against the festival.
The other 37 percent of respondents wanted the event to be held.
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Monies need to be utilized for recovery! We will not be anymore prepared for hurricane season. There are people living in deplorable conditions and all you can think about is a party! Unbelievable!
So were it not for super hurricane Irma and scaling back of Easter Festival vendors would not get paid? Are there still unpaid bills from 2016 and 2017 Emancipation Festival? Oh, snap! Historical flooding cancelled most of the 2017 Emancipation Festival. Why aren’t Easter Festival and Emancipation Festival being altogether cancelled? Is politics trumping the public good?
By the way, why does Festival Committee spend more than the approved budget? How does the over expenditure get ratified so easily? Should not the principle be that you cannot spend money you don’t have (budgeted) and budgeted money must be spent for its intended purpose? Where is the financial expenditure responsibility and accountability, if any? Is the BVI sloppy management of its finance, why the UK is imposing more controls, ie, recovery board? When are all the annual certified audited financial reports going to be released?
This guy needs to go back to doing burgers
Pardna your ministry owes me money too!! But I bet it’s all ayo cronies dat going get paid first – if anything atall. Why didn’t you have this epiphany before the horse bolted out he gate?!? Better late than never eh…smdh..
The “No Direction party” never pays it’s bill’s on time – remember the BVI Electricity fiasco! they were on their knees and couldn’t afford to pay for much needed materials after Irma because the Government hadn’t paid their bills!!! one year on and still people are owed money now wonder they refuse to publish any yearly accounts then we could see what a car crash of a finance department they says they are responsible for!
I want my money what I worked for. I am owed and should be paid. We rarely make a fuss waiting but I hope we are keeping it real and NOT bringing in any outside artists as that money will NOT stay in the BVI