Minister of Culture and Festivals: They will be paid

Minister of Culture and Festivals, E P Chet Greene, is assuring this year’s Caribana competitors that they will receive outstanding monies.
 Minister Greene, when pressed by journalists at a news conference yesterday at the Sir Vivian Richards Grounds, said that the Ministry will continue to honour its commitment to the calypsonians, and their payments will be done in stages.
“Before the opening of Antigua’s Carnival, the outstanding monies stood at about $50,000. That figure has now been reduced to $20, 000, which shows a commitment to honour…[and] we will continue to make payments,” the Minister said.
He acknowledged that resources are not as free and as accessible as before, and a concerted effort must be made to balance the Ministry’s expenditures as regards Antigua’s carnival and Barbuda’s caribana.
 “We gave Barbuda its biggest Caribana ever, and that commitment is matched by our commitment to honour all arrears,” said Minister Greene.
The calypsonians who participated in the 2017 Barbuda competition in June are still awaiting payment, and with no word as to when they will be paid.