Three days after a notice was placed in a daily newspaper requesting that they settle debts owed for the use of the National Stadium, neither PPP/C Member of Parliament (MP) Odinga Lumumba, the Kashif and Shanghai organisation nor Hits and James entertainment has officially responded.
Stabroek News has since learnt that the combined debt of the three is just over $3 million, with Hits and Jams’ debt dating back to 2012. Company spokesman Rawle Ferguson, however, yesterday denied owing any money and said his organisation had been granted the use of the stadium as a concession by the former government, although his claim was challenged.
A notice in Saturday’s Kaieteur News asked that Lumumba, the Kashif and Shanghai organisation and Hits and Jams entertainment make contact with either the Ministry of Education’s Department of Culture, Youth and Sport or the National Stadium Manager’s office to settle their accounts.
Lumumba had told Stabroek News on Saturday that the Alpha United Football Club, of which he is the President, owes monies for the use of the facilities at the National Stadium at some point over a year ago.
The former presidential adviser claimed that the management of the stadium has been “discriminating against football” by charging significantly more money for football than cricket and proclaimed that his club would not pay the debt until the charges were clearly explained to them.
Concessionary rate
However, according to invoices seen by Stabroek News, Lumumba’s debt of $673,300 is in relation to the use of the stadium for the hosting of three games in Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championships in April of 2015.
The games, which were held on April 15th, April 17th, and April 19th of this year involved Alpha United, Surinamese Unit Inter Moengotapoe and Trinidad and Tobago unit Central FC.
According to Stadium Manager Anthony Xavier, instead of being charged significantly more than other entities, Lumumba was granted a concessionary rate of $50,000 for the rental of the stadium. This rate is $25,000 less than the rate that is normally charged. The bulk of his bill actually related to the use of the floodlights, the cost of which is $50,000 per hour.
Xavier maintains that several attempts to contact Lumumba about the debt resulted in verbal confrontations and no payment. He is disgusted with the comments made by the MP in several sections of the media.
He stressed that the stadium has a fee structure which has been in place since 2007.
Kashif and Shanghai, which has so far refused to give details about its debt, according to invoices seen, owes the stadium $1,005,000 for the hosting of the grand finale of the 25th Kashif and Shanghai Football championship on April 5th, 2015.
Kashif Muhammad had previously said that his organisation would be meeting with ministry officials yesterday. However, when contacted for a comment last evening he said that the meeting had not yet occurred.
He stressed that they will be meeting with the ministry as there are some discrepancies between the ministry’s claims and their records, which can only be clarified by a meeting.
Pay what is owed
Meanwhile, Hits and Jams entertainment, according to the stadium’s records, has both the largest and oldest debt. The entity owes $1,348,800 for the use of the stadium for the hosting of events related to Jamzone 2012, which was held from August 18th to August 25th, 2012.
Ferguson, of Hits and Jams, had told Stabroek News that he did not know what debt the ministry was referring to. In an invited comment yesterday, he said Hits and Jams has no contract with the managing body of the stadium and therefore no debt.
According to Ferguson, the use of the stadium was one of the concessions offered to Hits and Jams by the previous government in acknowledgement of the promotion’s contribution to the tourism industry.
He further claimed to have had arrangements with the previous government through what was then the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. However, former minister Dr Frank Anthony yesterday said he was confused by the claim. According to Anthony, whenever the stadium is rented there is a contract between the renter and stadium management. He explained that if the stadium charges had been waived, there would be no record of a debt. He believes that the entities who have been notified should simply pay what they owe.
Xavier has also made this call, while stating that the monies are necessary for the upkeep of the facilities. “We are not a charitable organisation, we need money to maintain the stadium… everyone is always asking for concessions and we sit with them and try to accommodate them. Our fee structure is not in stone but you can’t want me to give you the place for free and you are charging the public three to five thousand a ticket,” he explained.
Xavier also said that he had noted collusion between Lumumba and Hits and Jams. He said after several attempts to recoup money from Hits and Jams failed, he wrote to them stating that they could no longer use the stadium for events. “That’s when Lumumba started to rent it under his name, while Hits and Jams was actually hosting the event,” he said.
Responding to Lumumba’s comments in the media that he might take the matter to court, Xavier said that he would be “more than happy” to present his records “for judicial scrutiny.”
