Hits and Jams Entertainment’s ‘Night of Elegance’ will be staged at the Promenade Gardens this evening, after government intervened to allow the use of the location which was denied by Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green.
Green previously told to this newspaper that Hits and Jams Entertainment did not consult him or the committee responsible for the site and he said as a result it would be unable to use it.
However, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon stated yesterday during a press conference that the Promenade Gardens is a public facility which is owned by the state. He suggested that Green’s decision was seemingly part of a boycott of Hits and Jams’ events, which was initiated by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) supporters. Green is a member of APNU.
“He [Green] is trying to take us back to an era we don’t want to remember… The administration is not going to stand idly by… The mayor is trying to bring back alien practices in this day and age,” Luncheon stated.
When Stabroek News contacted Green, he said that the Town Clerk Yonette Pluck-Cort and City Engineer Gregory Erskine acted “improper on their own.”
He reiterated that the plants and flowers of the garden were destroyed on the last occasion and that he remains against the use of the facility for the event.
The mayor said he refuses to make his decision a political move, adding “if the government wants to bring this into the political arena it’s up to them.”
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of Hits and Jams Entertainment Rawle Ferguson told this newspaper that the issue has been resolved and the permit was granted. He said preparations are being made to make the event a memorable one for Guyanese and pointed out that unlike other parties, tickets remain at the same price, $4,000.
The headliner, international recording artiste Omarion, will perform with local acts and recent contestants in the GT&T Jingle and Song competition, Poonam Singh and Brandon Harding. This, he said, is in an effort to offer locals the experience they need with internationally recognized artistes so that their talents goals can become the same.
Omarion is expected to arrive in Guyana today.
