The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AFTER more than 72 hours of uncertainty over the status of the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day parades, Junkanoo and government officials announced that the events will proceed as initially planned, with only one Valley Boys faction competing for a prize in the A category.

The Davis administration appeared to relent in pushing for both factions to compete after Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence (JCNP) chairman Dion Miller threatened that groups would withdraw from the parades.

Before this week’s talks between the parties, the JCNP had determined that Trevor Davis’ Way Forward Valley Boys group would only participate as a fun group in the F category. Now, that group will participate in the A division but not be judged for a prize. Brian Adderley’s World Famous Valley Boys group will compete with other groups for the top award.

Given this, it remained unclear whether the Davis administration’s rationale for intervening in the matter –– the risk of legal jeopardy –– remains a live issue. Attorney General Ryan Pinder had said that either both groups compete or neither do as they engage in a court battle.

Earlier this week, JCNP members said the government intervened because Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis is the brother of the Way Forward leader, a notion Youth Sports and Culture Minister Mario Bowleg rejected.

“The prime minister,” he said, “never intervened in this and the problem we have with the public perception is if I made a decision, the people would have said, the prime minister tell me make the decision. The prime minister has confidence in all of his ministers to make a decision that they think is best for the country.”

 Mr Bowleg said the public should realise there was no need for the prime minister to intervene. He said the prime minister knew it involved his brother and anticipated the potential backlash.

 He also claimed that even though a press statement from his ministry on Sunday indicated that both Valley Boys factions would compete for a prize in the A division of the parades, the government never demanded that the JCNP comply.

 “What the AG was doing was giving us legal advice to protect the government because the matter is before the court, and at the end of the day, he publicly put his advice and opinion out there, which is also his advice to the JCNP as it relates to the matter,” he said.

 “It wasn’t a demand to the JCNP or the Junkanoo community that the government was indicating that decision must be made.”

 Mr Bowleg said neither faction had received the $30k seed funding due to the ongoing legal matter about who is entitled to use the Valley Boys name. He had previously said that both sides would get $30k.

“Money doesn’t rot,” he said. “Once that is finished, we will release the funding to whomever is the Valley Boys.”

 Mr Miller, meanwhile, said there was never any separation between Mr Bowleg’s ministry, the JCNP, and Junkanoo groups, suggesting other arms of government were intervening.

 The ministry and the JCNP, he said, have “enjoyed a beautiful relationship for the past 20 years.”

 “In that regard, I think the issue arises when persons outside of our connection or outside of our bond start making public commentary and this tends to lend to confusion. We have been meeting for many months to arrive at this very same point where we are.”