Wilchcombe threatens legal action over postponed festival

Mon, May 9th 2016, 10:58 AM

Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe said he is disappointed that "distinguished men" have failed to live up to their obligations to put on the Caribbean Muzik Festival and he threatened to take legal action against them if they do not soon stage the event.

"It's disappointing, very disappointing, because again, we have worked with many groups and this is the first group of distinguished men, which really bothers me, men, of our society who have not lived up to an obligation," Wilchcombe told National Review.

"They fought to do this, even when we told them that we had difficulty at the very beginning. They fought for it. They wanted to do it. We worked with them and in working with them, they have not lived up to their obligation, very disappointing."

While the organizers have indicated they are waiting to meet with the minister, Wilchcombe said, "It doesn't make sense talking about meeting with me. How many times you want to meet with me?"

The festival was scheduled to take place last October. However, the major events never took place. The Ministry of Tourism spent $650,000 sponsoring the festival. There is still no word on when it will be held, or when the money will be returned.

Last week, festival director Desmond Edwards told us the $650,000 had been "exhausted" as it was used to pay all of the artists and their travel expenses. He said "every penny has been documented".

Jamaican Michael Tomlinson is chairman and CEO of the Caribbean Muzik Festival.

Attorney Alfred Sears, who was recently ratified as the Progressive Liberal Party's (PLP) candidate for Fort Charlotte, in the next general election, was also a festival director.

However, Sears confirmed to us recently that he re- signed last December.

"I resigned in frustration and decided to pursue other interests," he told National Review, while pointing to "the challenges of doing business in The Bahamas".

Sears made it clear that he operated above board during the whole time he was in- volved in the festival.

"I misappropriated no funds," he said, noting that he had a minority shareholding in the company.

"It's a commercial relationship between the ministry and the company, and there is an outstanding dispute the ministry and company are seeking to resolve.

" Asked whether he has been placed in an uncomfortable position given that his PLP colleague Alfred Sears was involved in the festival, Wilchcombe said, "There is a group, I'm not going to single him out, but there is a group, and they have been working as a group together. We expect the group to live up to their obligation. It's a business group.

"We deal with many people, from both political parties."

Speaking of the festival, the minister said, "It's a great opportunity, but after you have made an obligation, you expect the side which you have made the obligation to, to live up to their part of the bargain, and they have not done so as a business group, and that's what disappoints me."

Not long after postponing the festival, the promoters said they initiated legal acaction in the United States against suppliers who allegedly defaulted on undertakings to supply stage and sound equipment, ultimately forcing the postponement.

In a previous joint statement, the Ministry of Tourism and Caribbean Music Festival (2000) Ltd. said early dates in December 2015 were under discussion for the postponed events.

According to that statement, serious difficulties were experienced that made it unwise to attempt to the festival.

"At the end of it all, we agreed, and they have an obligation.

The obligation is that they have to live up to what was agreed to," Wilchcombe told National Review.

"It's not necessary for another meeting. What's important is for them to give us a date and time to live up to their obligations, or return the money to the Ministry of Tourism. That's all they have to do.

"This is a very simple issue. It is the first time that it has happened where a group, because you wish to work with Bahamians as well as foreigners, you wish to work with them and you expect them to live up to their obligations, but this is the very first time that this has happened.

"They have to live up to their obligations. It's as simple as that. I don't know what all the drama is about. Just live up to the obligations. They have not returned the funds."

While festival organizers have suggested they are waiting on the Ministry of Tourism to confirm a date, the minister said, "They can suggest any date -- April, May, June. If they ask for a date, I could say anything, but we can't tell them a date.

"We have to say 'yeah okay; we would like to have it at a particular time', but they don't have to live up to that particular time. They can go beyond. The reality of it all is we're working with them because they need additional funds so they have to find additional funds.

"We are expecting them to live up to their obligations and we will write them formally and let them know that in the event a date is not given in which time promotions and marketing must begin, then of course there's an obligation that they have to fulfill."

The minister stressed again that no more public funds will be pumped into the festival.

Politics? It is no secret that both Wilchcombe and Sears have leadership aspirations in the PLP. That has fueled speculation that politics might be involved in the whole matter. But the minister strongly shot this suggestion down.

"That's gossip and that's rumor. There's no politics involved; come on. Politics?

How? You have the FNM and the PLP involved," he said, in an obvious reference to Sears, a former PLP minister, and Edwards, a former FNM senator.

"How're you going to have politics? There is no politics; that's gossip and nonsense. We don't operate that way.

"The Ministry of Tourism works with all sides of the political divide; we don't have a problem with that at all; That's a good project (the festival).

"It's a very good idea, but the circumstances, the way in which they were operating causes me deep concerns, and when you at the very last minute run into a problem with your vendor in the United States of America, to me, something's wrong with that when you should have used local vendors, but again, we can't tell them the way in which to operate.

"They wanted to use a foreign vendor, which they've now claimed affected their having the event. So there's no politics here. I don't get in that stuff.

"Listen, I don't play politics with the ministry at all.

We don't have time for that in this country. We're beyond that in this country... I have a particular position in my life. I'm a strong PLP. I believe in Lynden Pindling's PLP and I believe in how Pindling fought for the freedom of people to have a right to do what they want to do."

Wilchcombe said he will do all in his power to make sure the $650,000 is accounted for.

"I know my responsibility," he assured. "I don't back away from that at all. You make those decisions every day, but every day you're expecting people to live up to their obligations because when you engage in certain arrangements, you expect it to be fulfilled, and as I said to you before, this is the first time.

"It's very disappointing, so very disappointing... that a group that has the wherewithal individually, I would think, would not sit down and fulfill their obligations. If they have other difficulties, they ought to state those difficulties and they have to do so."

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