Some of the artistes and other personnel who rendered services during Carifesta have finally been paid by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
These payments come more than two months after the arts festival concluded on August 31.
According to reports, the Ministry started distributing payments from Tuesday. Several of the unpaid artistes took to the streets recently to protest against their non-payment and the shoddy treatment that they were receiving from Ministry officials. According to some of these performers, the Ministry officials had them on “a wild goose chase.”
Actor Godfrey Naughton was one of the performers paid on Tuesday and he was happy that after months of chasing around he has finally been paid. He performed the role of “Olum”, one of the main characters in Guyana’s signal dramatic presentation The Legend of the Silk Cotton Tree.
He said that although he would like to say that he is satisfied, he is also disappointed that “the artistes had to go on the streets to slug it out with the government before they got a response”. Last month, he and actress Sonia Yarde staged a two-person protest in front of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
Naughton suggested that Carifesta had suffered because of under budgeting and said that the government clearly underestimated the magnitude of hosting the event.
He said that persons experienced in dealing with local cultural activities should have been asked to manage the festival. The actor emphasized that managing cultural activities requires special expertise that not everyone would have.
He also said that the delay in payment came about because of bureaucracy and opined that it was unfortunate that those who worked hard to make the event a success had to suffer as a result.
Sonia Yarde, another cast member of Guyana’s signal dramatic presentation, has also been paid. She was happy that she was paid but stated that it was regrettable that previously no official had the decency to come out and say exactly what was occurring with the payments.
Meanwhile Ron Robinson said that although he has not collected his payments as yet, he was informed that they were ready.
He was owed payments for helping to direct the signal production, for work done at the opening ceremony and for being a training officer at the Technical Theatre Workshop held prior to the festival.
He said that he was relieved that this issue had been finally settled and said he is willing to put the matter behind him. Last week Robinson had organised two picketing exercises in front of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, and had some strong words on the treatment of the local artistes by the government. (Mark McGowan)
