Bodie writes letter to BP
Mr. Minister of Youth, Sports and other Countries’ Culture,
I have asked you several questions already and so far you have failed to answer any of them, yet you say you are being attacked because you are being asked to answer some questions from a citizen of this country. No sir, it is the people of The Bahamas who are being attacked and ripped off out of nine million dollars earmarked to be invested in another countries’ culture. At least you could have respected us enough to have put Junkanoo in the title of this Festival, and not hide it in the background. Are you ashamed of the nation’s number one cultural expression? Answer my questions please.
Apparently you think that I am in The House Of Assembly where you can ignore my questions and hide behind the gown tail of the Speaker of the House. No sir. I am out here in the real world. Out here with the people you work for sir, the voters. Remember us? This is a new day, no more taking the people’s money and spending it willy nilly. You, the Prime Minister and the members of Cabinet, must be held to account.
I was shocked when I read your response or better yet, your non-response to my letter in the newspapers several weeks ago. Just the same ole diatribe about making so much money with your foreign Carnival idea, you ducked and you dodged like a politician in his adolescence and never answered the questions that were put to you. They were fairly easy questions. For example, what was the amount of money paid to the Trinidadian consultant that was brought in?
I do not worship, nor am I intimidated by any politician, in fact I would challenge you to a live debate on radio and television on this Carnival idea y’all are wasting the citizen’s money on.
Instead of answering my questions sir, you chose to run on about how Junkanoo brings in no money. But sir, Junkanoo inspires the masses and brings us together. As Minister of Culture, you should have known that. The real reason to that argument is that neither you nor any of your predecessors have ever truly invested in Junkanoo in any substantial way. The same can be said for our RAKE-N-SCRAPE and the GOOMBAY SUMMER FESTIVALS but the cop out is to blame Junkanoo. You all funded it just enough for it to fail, yet you want to pour millions of the taxpayers’ dollars into a foreign flamboyant festival you have no clue about. Y’all really think Bahamians stupid aye?
Tell the truth, most of you politicians think you reside on Mount Olympus don’t you? That you are Gods looking down on us lowly Bahamians? But guess what? Those same Roman and Greek Gods have been placed in comic books where they and those like them belong.
How about this idea Einstein? We invest our monies in our culture, in our festivals? You are the Minister of what? CULTURE?? WHO’S CULTURE AGAIN? I’m ashamed of you guys. In hard times like these you want to take our little pittance and put it on someone else’s culture. Let’s build up our culture first, then at some point in the future you can find a donor that would gladly sponsor your ambiguous Carnival idea.
The latest IMF, International Monetary Fund, report has slashed the forecasted growth projections for The Bahamas by almost 50 percent and y’all are still considering wasting the little we have on someone else’s culture?
Question? Will the new VAT taxes collected be used pay for this Carnival thing?
Politically this is a bad move. Bahamians are hurting out here Minister.
This Carnival idea will fail, mark my words, “BAHAMIAN CULTURE OR NOTHING”. Please do us all a favour and resign if you do not care about our BAHAMIAN CULTURE. Just a few more questions sir. Do you know anything about the Bahamian Entertainment Industry? Which of your festival commissioners know of the Bahamian Entertainment Industry? Which of them is a full time entertainer? Which one has sold more record or CD albums than I have? Who has performed live on stage make their living from this?
Sir leave BAHAMIAN CULTURE to the professionals please.
Minister, we could have sat down and spoke on this matter face to face, instead of doing this through the newspapers and social media, but one of your brilliant advisors told you to ignore me and I would go away. They were wrong. Not when it comes to my culture and my nation’s well-being sir, I can do this all day.
We can find better uses for that nine million dollars of the taxpayer’s money. If Atlantis, Baha Mar, Carnival Cruise Lines or Disney had funded this project, I would not have had a word to say on this matter but to take the people’s hard earned money in trying times, and use it in this reckless way on a foreign festival is thoughtless, and stupid.
In closing, answer my questions sir, do not evade them again, “MAN UP”, “FEET TO THE FIRE”, we need answers please.
KIRKLAND H. BODIE
#BAHAMIAN CULTURE
