Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - The government of Trinidad & Tobago has been sworn in on August 19, 2020 at President’s House, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. Former Minister of Community Development and Culture Dr. Nyan Gadsby-Dolly is now the Minister of Education. The responsibility for the national Steelband art form was within her previous portfolio.
The new Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts is now Randall Mitchell. The Steelband art form now falls under his purview.
Though it had not always been “smooth sailing,” as Minster of Culture, Dr. Nyan Gadsby-Dolly was often seen as a proponent of the country’s overall cultural landscape, and could be seen many times present in enthusiastic support of steelband-related events, moreso than others who had held that portfolio in recent years.
Perhaps the most tangible change that
occurred on Gadsby-Dolly’s watch relative to the steelband was
the forced financial accountability of the governing body of
pan,
Pan Trinbago, via a forensic audit. As the
then-Culture Minister said to the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian,
one of the country’s national news organizations, she
had to act to “protect the taxpayers’ purse and the interest
of the panmen, in light of allegations of financial impropriety
involving the steel band organisation.”
A performance by a steelband trio from
Exodus Steel
Orchestra followed the official swearing-in, with
Anthony “Juggy” Rose appearing to be one of the musicians.
The trio from Exodus Steel Orchestra performs after the swearing-in of the government and Cabinet, held at President’s House, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago - August 19, 2020 - image via screengrab
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