Agriculture Extravaganza 2017 opening pushed back to today

A three-day national event which was scheduled to open yesterday was postponed until today due to what an organiser says was late payment by the government.
Title Sponsor of Wadadli Animal Nature Park Agriculture Extravaganza 2017, OBSERVER media spoke with Public Relations Officer and Marketing Consultant for the Park, Oriel Walter, early yesterday morning and discovered that equipment needed such as tents would not be set up in time for the event’s opening.
“When we contacted Wadadli Events Services last evening, we were advised that Ministry of Culture did contact them but they did not mobilise themselves due to the fact that they weren’t paid and they are still owed monies from the Ministry of Culture. Basically, what they said is if they don’t get funding they’re not doing anything,” he said.
A seemingly disappointed Walter later came on OBSERVER’s Voice of the People and further explained why the intended display of agricultural produce could not happen yesterday.
“Most of [the vendors] came and they had to leave because basically a lot of this is fresh fruits, fresh produce and you can’t just have them laying out in the sun with no coverage. This is what happens when persons who are supposed to play a particular part don’t do what they’re supposed to do,” Walter said on the radio programme.
He also reported that many stakeholders were affected and organisers had to contact people early in the morning and advise them that the event would be pushed back.
“Not only does it affect those who took their own personal time out to be a part of the event, it also affects all of the school children that were supposed to be there today. Their field trips got either cancelled or postponed.”
OBSERVER media attempted to reach the appropriate individuals at the Ministry of Culture to ascertain why payments were late but all attempts were unsuccessful. However, Walter said that the ministry’s officials were present at the site yesterday to make sure the same situation would not be repeated today.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)