Pan Protestors Demand Pan Trinbago’s Executive Board Step Down; NCC Chairman Says Panorama Will Be Held, Show Must Go On

NCC Chairman Kenneth De Silva on ME

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. -  On the national television program ME (Morning Edition), Trinidad and Tobago National Carnival Commission (NCC) Chairman Kenneth De Silva, in responding to ME host Fazeer Mohammed, declared that if the embattled Pan Trinbago could not run the 2017 National Panorama the NCC would step in and run the show. The commissioner was emphatic that the show must go on at all cost. Mr. De Silva also declared “We paid the money [to Pan Trinbago] for the pan players for 2016 in full, and that [money] has not been passed on to the pan players.” Click for full video.

Pan Trinbago has been caught up in a row with pan players over its leadership, and its non-payment of stipends to players for the 2016 Panorama season, despite the NCC’s claims that they received the money to have done so.

Protesting pan players outside Pan Trinbago headquarters

Later in the day, there was a 12:00 p.m. protest by pan players outside Pan Trinbago’s headquarters in Port-of-Spain, where again there were calls for the immediate resignation of the organization’s executive board. In addition, the protestors reiterated that as far as they were concerned, there would be no Panorama for 2017 if Pan Trinbago did not accede to their demand.

With the national media on hand at the site of the protest, a letter was ‘read into the record’ officially documenting the request that the executive board resign. The letter also detailed the concerns and ‘failings’ leading to this point, including but not limited to, the non-payment of 2016 stipends.