So after all is said and done, we are still back to square one.
I have a passion for what is morally right, a passion for seeking out injustice, and a passion for steel pan.
Now that the dust has settled, it is clear that the folks in the steel pan circles here in Grenada really don’t know what they want.
So it is now very clear, the most recent President was speaking the truth all along (not that I doubted him).
After having No panorama in 2017, we saw the largest and most attended Panorama in 2018, and one of the most positively publicised years for pan in 2018. We all thought that the Jason Skeete-led executive was heading in the right direction, and that the old washed up derelicts were a thing of the past.
But here we are again, the monsters raised their heads and we were thrown back years into the pool of deceitfulness and selfishness.
This is what we saw at panorama 2019, total regression.
The SMC came on national television and proclaimed that the model of 2018, under the Jason Skeete-led association was the most successful in years, that it was the right direction, but, they reverted to the old model because some of the larger bands were not happy, and they were receiving loads of arguments from them.
Moreover, the SMC said they wanted to maintain the peace of carnival 2019, and as such they gave in to the demands of the loud mouths.
The joy of having one large panorama featuring both junior and senior competitions was regressed to having two separate competitions again.
As such, we saw Junior Panorama 2019 happening inside an empty stadium. So, months of practice, away from school work, only to play with no one there to hear and see.
Senior Panorama had a significantly lower turnout this year, with records showing that less than 50% compared to the previous year.
Weeks after both competitions, further disgrace with only the top bands (the Big Bands) getting paid prize monies, while the smaller, mostly unsponsored bands had to once again wait and be treated with scant courtesy before they can receive their monies. More feathers in the cap of embarrassment.
There was an interim committee installed, that had no presence, no effect, and no vision, and all we saw in the news were the faces of members of the bigger bands, talking. Oh how selfish, and distasteful that was.
As we draw nearer to the imminent catastrophic end of this battle between right and wrong, or big and small, further confusion is on the horizon.
The most recent pan representative was helpless in his duties, (not that he could have done much, given the circumstances).
The SMC and the Cultural Bosses have failed miserably if we use 2018 as a yard stick and a guide (after all it was the most successful year for pan).
There should have been elections of officers to obviously elect the desperate and derelict associates, but even that seems to be on hold as they are now fighting among themselves (not that we didn’t expect it) primarily because of two positions which they cannot seem to agree on. Who gets President, who gets Treasurer, and that is determined by who is offered Secretary?
The corporate community continues to invest less and less in pan every year, and honestly no one can blame them. There are far less controversial organisations that can associate with, that is not plagued by so much gross financial mismanagement.
There have been no statements and accountability for the past decades, and no one is being held accountable. The public still awaits the results of the infamous inquiry into the NO PAN of 2017, and why was there NO STAGE.
Children in schools are now being asked to pay to learn to play pan, another clear move to enlarge the pockets of some. The Ministry of Culture funded this for years, but had to stop in 2017, because of the allegedly poor management by those who were at the helm. This is further exploitation of the youths.
We have now gone to a new low, and so quickly, with no care for basic right and wrong, no scruples. When will this garbage end, and who should really take the blame?
Do we really want to change things? Can we blame serious minded people for not wanting to be a part of this organisation? Clearly not, because no logical, serious minded person interested in good and honesty will now come forward to lead the organisation.
Do we really want to continue along these paths of destruction? Or are we comfortable, going nowhere FAST.