Opposition airs concerns over ‘One Nation Concert’

The ‘One Nation Concert’ being put on under the auspices of Prime Minister Gaston Browne has faced backlash in relation to the source of financing.
Speaking on OBSERVER AM, yesterday, Minister of Culture Chet Greene disclosed the overall cost of the concert and thanked those who came on board with the concept.
 “The cost of this concert is 300,000 EC dollars. I am going to go on record to thank all the service providers for giving discounted rates on their services. Everybody has really given commitment and have bought into this concept,” Greene said.
According to Greene, because this is a new idea being put together by the Festivals Commission, the fee for this year’s installation of the festival is free which will allow for people to appreciate the unity to be achieved.
“The idea of it being free this year is what is used to have the buy- in and appreciation. In other words, I am saying that it will not always be free, but in the first iteration it has been put in that particular frame at a low admission fee kind of concert.
This is a new concept put together by the Festivals Commission, and being a government agency, naturally, the government foots the bill for this one.”
The United Progressive Party (UPP) PRO Senator Damani Tabor has criticized the concert saying that the money could be used to develop other areas of the society.
“The unity concert, totally reprehensible. How can the government be paying for such an event when we cannot have water and electricity reliably delivered and pensioners are paid late?” he questioned.
Tabor has also asked the PM to provide financial details of how the money was spent to put on the concert.
“The UPP wishes to put Gaston Browne on notice that we expect full accounting in regards to that concert. We’re going to demand what is the costing of the sound system, transportation, stage and all of these performers that are being imported.”
 
(More in today’s Daily Observer)