Published 16 March 2018
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Sourc
No Straight Answers About Carnival Price Monies
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN); It’s now halfway through March and winners and participants of Sugar Mas 46 competitions and activities cannot get a straight answer from officials as to when they will be paid prize monies.
Deputy Prime Minister Shawn Richards, who holds responsibility for Carnival, responded to the question of payment during a press conference on Wednesday.“During the month of February, there was a town hall meeting for all stakeholders of Carnival. I said during that meeting that I’m hoping by the end of March that all outstanding debts in respect of carnival would be settled. As it is, there is a submission currently before Cabinet to seek to get the outstanding sum to settle those particular bills.” The Minister said late payment to carnival participants and service providers is nothing new. Since the change in administration in 2015, this is the latest persons have had to wait for payment. Prize monies for carnival 2015/2016 were paid on February 26, 2016; and for carnival 2016/2017, prize monies were distributed on January 20th, 2017. “The fact is that each year this has been ongoing so, while I’m not saying it’s acceptable, having the bills outstanding by February/March isn’t anything new.” The Deputy Prime Minister did say that he hoped the Cabinet would have dealt with the submission regarding carnival monies during a sitting on Thursday.Meanwhile, the National Carnival Committee has already started hosting planning meetings with stakeholders in preparation for Sugar Mas 47.
