It would be "impossible" for a Free National Movement (FNM) administration to stop what the current government has started with the first Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival, Prime Minister Perry Christie said in an interview with National Review.
Christie suggested the support from the Bahamian people was so powerful any future administration would be making a grave mistake if it seeks to stop carnival, as opposed to building on what has been started.
"I am always astonished when political figures take dogmatic and irreconcilable positions with respect to culture, as opposed to trying to understand it, as opposed to saying 'Let's see what the Bahamian people think about it', you take a position and then say you are going to reverse something that people actually want, people enjoy," said Christie, when asked to respond to the FNM leadership's absence from the carnival events.
The FNM voiced serious concerns about carnival in the lead-up to the May 7-9 festival. But its messages were not entirely consistent. The party's parliamentary team was not present at carnival. Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis said he was out of town at his son's graduation. We doubt, based on his previous statements, he would have attended carnival.
Minnis told National Review last Wednesday he had nothing to say about carnival. He later said he had to wait for a "complete analysis" before making a "complete determination". In February, the FNM leader accused Christie of seeking to "destroy culture" and importing someone else's culture with carnival. Minnis noted Christie is a lifelong participant in Junkanoo.
"He should be ashamed," he said. "If he has been in it that long, he should be ashamed to be the man who can possibly destroy our culture. He should be ashamed to say he has been in Junkanoo longer than all of us and this is what he is doing to Junkanoo. God help us."
In that same February interview with The Nassau Guardian, Minnis was asked if an FNM government would do away with carnival.
He responded: "As you know, I am pro-Bahamian. The FNM is pro-Bahamian. We will do everything in our power to push Junkanoo in the forefront.
"We will do everything in our power to ensure that Bahamians truly have ownership of their culture and that Junkanoo will become synonymous with The Bahamas, just like reggae (is synonymous with Jamaica)."
In another interview, he said the FNM "does not agree with" carnival. He called what the prime minister was doing with culture the "greatest test under this government".
In February, FNM Chairman Michael Pintard said the formula the Christie administration was using with carnival was incorrect. He said the FNM would discontinue carnival as The Bahamas' signature event and refocus on developing Junkanoo, and other cultural events.
The prime minister told National Review that the various statements made by the FNM's leadership in the months leading up to carnival have "boxed in" Minnis.
"He is in a position now that I'm astonished to see that any political leader thinking of the future, would have allowed himself to be boxed into a situation where he is clearly going against the wishes of a substantial part of the Bahamian public, and many of them FNM supporters, unquestionably," Christie said.
"To see the thousands of people out there and to draw the conclusion that only PLPs were there would be the wrong conclusion. That was a Bahamian crowd out there and a tremendous mix out there, and quite frankly, people who were enjoying themselves."
Christie was referring primarily to the crowd that turned up at Clifford Park on May 8 for the Music Masters competition and mega concert where Trinidadian soca sensation Machel Montano was the headliner.
The prime minister said it would be "wrong" for any political leader to abandon carnival, although he recognized that the event could benefit from "twisting and tweaking".
Referring to the FNM's views on carnival, the prime minister said, "They have to reverse themselves in this regard, because there is absolutely no doubt that next year the [the Bahamas Festival] Commission has to consider giving Freeport a road march, in other words [it will be] expanding.
"You're going to find thousands more people coming, thousands more people enjoying themselves."
Christie flew to Martinique to meet with CARICOM colleagues and the French president on the morning of March 9 after leaving the mega concert.
"Prime ministers of the region who were watching the net were absolutely astonished that we could produce such an extraordinary start, and they're saying 'If you're doing that now, next year and the years [after] it's going to be absolutely extraordinary," he said.
Numbers
A key concern of the FNM as it relates to carnival is how the $9 million budgeted for the festival was spent, and what economic gains, if any, were achieved. This is a legitimate concern. Bahamas National Festival Commission (BNFC) Chairman Paul Major pledged last Monday to reveal the revenue and economic impact generated from Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival in 21 days. We doubt that his earlier projection of an economic generation of up to $60 million was realized, but numbers are crucial in assessing the success of carnival.
As we noted in this space last week, carnival was never intended to be a $9 million party for Bahamians. No one should be surprised that Bahamians supported carnival in such significant numbers. The concerts were well produced with great acts and very affordable.
Carnival was intended to be a major draw for tourism. We had heard the term "heads in beds" repeatedly leading up to carnival. It does not seem that the inaugural carnival was a major draw for tourism. Christie acknowledged this when he told us "that was a Bahamian crowd out there". We contend that the success of carnival is that it has laid the foundation for something that will prove spectacular in years to come. We believe carnival has the potential to be a major tourism generator.
The Ministry of Tourism, for example, announced last week that HBO Latin America filmed a short documentary on Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival. We believe this is a major benefit.
Marketing for the inaugural event was negatively impacted by the controversy over who would headline the mega concert. The decision to go with Montano came too late for effective marketing, organizers acknowledged. With proper marketing, we are likely to see significant gains from future carnivals. Whether there would be carnival under an FNM government is a matter for the party to present a clear position on. There have been mixed messages from the FNM on this issue, before and after the recent festival.
Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn said last week while he awaits the assessment of the Festival Commission, the FNM would be "obligated to support it".
"We are not just going to waste $9 million one year and have no follow up. So, we will obviously try to continue to support it and make it a worthwhile carnival to be with us for many, many years to come."
Lightbourn said the FNM does not expect carnival to be a financial success in the first, second or third year. East Grand Bahama MP and FNM Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest said the turnout could be considered a success. However, he questioned whether the event succeeded in fulfilling its mandate - to attract visitors.
"We have to wait until the empirical data, what the results show us, in terms of the people who were attracted to the island to see what the economic impact was."
St. Anne's MP Hubert Chipman said he does not have a problem with Junkanoo Carnival and The Bahamas could see the "far reaching effects later on".
Given the FNM leadership's previous statements on carnival, it is unclear whether its concerns about culture being "destroyed" would trump whatever economic considerations relate to carnival.
The Trinidadian cultural flavoring in Bahamas carnival remains a sore point for many Bahamians. This is understandable.
While there were Junkanoo rush-outs, all-day rake 'n' scrape and a Bahamian song competition, which was a key feature of carnival, there were also opportunities for a greater focus on Bahamian culture as a part of the carnival experience. These are matters that ought to be closely examined ahead of carnival 2016.
In his most interview with National Review, the prime minister predicted that Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival will "turn out to be one of the great cultural festivals in the region that people from around the world will come to see".
"There's no doubt about it and I won't wait for five years," Christie said. "I think it's going to come into being next year."
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