The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The FNM’s deputy leader yesterday charged that almost $20 million in taxpayer monies has “gone down the tubes”, amid increasing evidence that Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival cannot be sustained without government subsidies.

K P Turnquest told Tribune Business that the economic impact data for the 2016 event, released yesterday by the National Festival Commission, provided “obvious” evidence that the Carnival would only survive with the Government’s continued financial support.

While the Christie administration’s subsidy was down by 28.3 per cent year-over-year, falling from $11.3 million to $8.1 million, this represents almost $20 million in public monies devoted to the first two Junkanoo Carnivals.

Suggesting that these funds could have been better spent fixing key infrastructure assets, or improving the education system and hiring new teachers, Mr Turnquest challenged the Commission to produce evidence to support Carnival’s purported $70 million gross domestic product (GDP) impact.

That figure is equivalent to almost 1 per cent of per annum GDP, and the Festival Commission suggested that the impact was down $10 million year-over-year “primarily due to the overall cost reduction”- meaning there was a smaller government/taxpayer subsidy.

The FNM deputy leader, meanwhile, also called on the Festival Commission to provide gross figures, rather than percentages, on Carnival-related tourist arrivals and attendance, arguing that this would give a better understanding of the event’s international reach.

And he also queried how the number of Carnival attendees in Nassau was just 18,700 higher than the figure for Freeport, despite the latter having a population that was four-five times’ greater.

Assessing the impact made by the two Carnival events to-date, Mr Turnquest told Tribune Business: “To me, it appears that the newness of the whole affair is wearing off, and we’re beginning to realise this is not going to be sustainable long-term.

“It’s interesting that Grand Bahama attracted 21,000 attendees, when Nassau, with a population four-five times’ that of Grand Bahama’s, was only able to attract 18,000 more. It says a lot about where this is going.”

Mr Turnquest said that dividing the 2016 Carnival’s $578,342 in ticket sales and other revenues by the 60,700 attendees equated to about $10 per person ($9.53 according to Tribune Business calculations).

“We know that there were supplementary packages going at $40 per head, and ticket prices were at $15 per head,” the FNM deputy leader said. “Using the basic price of $15 per head, you’re losing $5 per head.

“This thing doesn’t seem to be adding up, and the Government seems to be headstrong in continuing this event when the numbers show there is a trend here, and it is not sustainable from a financial perspective.”

Mr Turnquest said there were more pressing issues meriting the Government’s attention, pointing to the air conditioning problems currently afflicting Princess Margaret Hospital’s Critical Care Block. He also suggested the Carnival funds could have been better spent in assisting traditional Junkanoo groups with the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day parades.

“We know we can use $8.1 million to improve technology in the schools, hire more teachers, and we just don’t seem able to appreciate the reality of the situation we face as a country,” Mr Turnquest said.

“We certainly want to see investment in the cultural arts, and diversity of the cultural arts, but we have to invest in what is unique and sustainable about the Bahamas. This is just not it.

“It’s basically $20 million of the Bahamian people’s money down the tubes over the last two years,” he added to Tribune Business. “We had a great party, and will now suffer the headache and hangover over the next 20 years, not to mention the opportunity cost lost from investing in this way.”

The data disclosed by the Festival Commission shows what appears to be a ‘wealth transfer’ from Bahamian taxpayers to Carnival participants, namely the various bands and participants, plus their employees.

The Commission said some 278 small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and 696 individuals benefited directly from Carnival-related spending, 85 per cent of which was injected into the Bahamian economy.

More than 1,200 workers were hired directly as a result of Carnival, with another 1,600 indirect jobs created, as the Bahamas seeks to monetise and derive economic benefits from its cultural economy.

Mr Turnquest, though, questioned how many of these jobs were permanent as opposed to short-term for Carnival’s duration, pointing out that their hiring provided a timely employment boost for the Department of Statistics’ May survey.

He also indicated that Junkanoo Carnival’s timing was particularly opportune for the Government, given that the 2017 version will likely coincide with the general election.

The Festival Commission’s analysis showed the 2016 Carnival had a ‘direct economic impact’ of $17.795 million, which was then ‘multiplied by four’ to derive the $70 million GDP effect challenged by Mr Turnquest.

The figures also revealed that, in return for its $8.111 million subsidy, the Government received $6.347 million in tax revenue- meaning it had to spend $1.28 for every $1 it earned. Ultimately, it suffered a near $1.8 million ‘loss’.

The number of vendor employees benefiting from Junkanoo Carnival dropped by almost two-thirds, from 1,200 to 402, due to the redesigned Cultural Village that cut vendor numbers.

As for tourist arrivals, the data suggests that Junkanoo Carnival’s impact was in the hundreds, rather than the thousands.

While May air arrivals to Nassau/Paradise Island were up 6 per cent year-over-year, the Commission’s data showed an 11.5 per cent increase for Carnival weekend, with 12,006 compared to 10,767 the year before.

On Grand Bahama, while air arrivals were down 20 per cent for May, the Festival Commission said there was a 65 per cent jump on Carnival weekend - although the gross rise was less than 800 persons.

Some 14,799 Carnival attendees or 24 per cent, out of the total 60,700, were said to have been tourists. Visitors accounted for one out of three attendees on Grand Bahama.