Auditors are now investigating the books of SpiceMas Corporation (SMC), the body which manages Grenada’s annual Carnival festival.
The corporation’s debt is said to be in the region of EC$1-million with dozens of contractors and service providers owed over several years.
When approached, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of SpiceMas, Kelvin Jacob said he would not disclose the amount that the corporation is in the red by, although this figure was requested weeks ago at a media launch of the 2019 Carnival.
At the time Spice Mas officials had given a commitment to disclose the figure as it was not readily available at the time.
But Tuesday in a telephone conversation, Jacob said he would prefer to focus on plans for the 2019 season and not on the amount of money owed by the Corporation.
“We don’t want to disrupt the public now talking about the debt. People know that Spice Mas’is in debt. We don’t want this negative news”, he said.
Jacob stated that plans are going well for the festival, artistes are registering to participate and events are being launched.
According to well-placed sources, the SpiceMas body has not been audited in about five years and that State auditors have already investigated the 2015 and 2016 years and are now looking into the 2017 and 2018 financial records.
A major area of concern is said to be the arbitrary deferment of certain outstanding payments which made it appear as if the Corporation’s debt was decreasing, although creditors had not agreed to write-offs.
THE NEW TODAY understands that letters have been sent to several creditors requesting verification of outstanding invoices for services provided to SpiceMas over the years as this is a standard practice when an audit is being conducted.
Creditors include Southern Waste which provides portable toilets for SMC events and the Grenada Cultural Foundation (GCF) for services and the National Stadium Authority.
The Corporation is said to have faced increased expenses over the last four years while private corporate sponsorship had shrunk tremendously.
A source said that sponsors had been reluctant to contribute financially to the hosting of Carnival, citing negative attitudes from management.
The former CEO, Kirk Seetahal who had tendered his resignation prior to the 2018 Carnival, publicly complained about sponsors requesting complimentary tickets for events, as part of their sponsorship.
In 2018, when Spice Mas Corporation received a cheque for EC$35, 000 from mobile company Digicel, officials had hailed the company as the third largest sponsor, after government and the National Lotteries Authority.
Both government and NLA provide hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for the festival.
Flow, formerly Lime, had been the largest non-State sponsor and by 2015 the company had cut their support to quarter million dollars, down from EC$350, 000.
Eventually sponsorship dwindled to EC$30, 000 and finally the company pulled out from direct sponsorship.
SMC also lost its Grenada Breweries sponsorship which was EC$100, 000, when the Corporation rescinded the company’s pouring rights deal and opted to run its own bars at all official SMC events.
The corporation also did not do well with a magazine and T-shirts production, which had resulted in a spike in expenses.
On Tuesday Culture Minister Nolan Cox confirmed that the audit was being conducted and said that once completed it will be tabled in the Parliament and made public.
Historically audit reports are presented in the Parliament at least one to two years after being completed.
Cox admitted that the Ministry of Culture had not requested an audit of the SpiceMas accounts in several years.
The Minister was also unable to say what the current debt burden of the Corporation is, though he said there might be some adjustments.
He said the National Stadium Authority for instance, has responded to audit inquiries with an invoice amount greater than what is listed in the Corporation’s books.