Culture Minister Marlene McDonald says she will meet with Sports Minister Gary Hunt to discuss the move by his ministry to ban cultural events from the Hasely Crawford Stadium and Jean Pierre Complex.

Since Hunt’s recent announcement, fete promoters, including Randy Glasgow and Gregory Fernandez, have vented their frustration over the matter. The promoters were also shocked by Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s statement that they should build their own facilities to host their events.

McDonald, who was speaking yesterday at a press conference at the ministry’s Community Education Information Training and Resource Centre at La Fantasie Road, St Ann’s, said: ’I do not have responsibility for neither the stadium nor the Jean Pierre Complex, that is for the Minister of Sports. I stand ready to assist any group in the cultural sphere of this country and to that end, I am going to meet with the Minister of Sports to see what we can work out together.’

However, the Minister agreed with the Prime Minister’s statement.

’The Ministry of Culture assists these businessmen with their prizes and it runs into millions of dollars,’ McDonald said.

’So if it is they are looking for a venue, I think the onus is on those people to come together. If they could find the land, we could look at it. If there’s a feasible proposal, we could look at it. But I think they’ve been making money off the public for years.

’Government cannot do everything. We’ve been providing the prizes and I’ve made sure that each group is adequately satisfied each year. So I don’t think that it is our burden to look for the venue.’

McDonald assured that the Government’s plans to construct the National Carnival and Entertainment Centre (NCEC) still stand, but she was unable to give any details on the construction time frame.

’As soon as I know, you will know too,’ she said.

’It’s a strange thing. This Government is being knocked - we are spending too much, wasteful spending. But at the same time people are requesting so many services of the Government, they are requesting venues, et cetera. But we must spend, ... in order to get that building we have to spend. So we have to decide exactly what it is we want. As a people we complain. But in order for us to get that Cultural Centre we need to put out the money to do so.’