By Leandra Rolle

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A DAY after the Valley Boys shocked the nation with its resignation from the Junkanoo Corporation New Providence (JCNP), Youth, Sports & Culture Minister Lanisha Rolle said her ministry will work to bring all groups together for a discussion to resolve ongoing issues.

The move, the minister said yesterday, will take place once officials have been fully briefed with all the necessary details surrounding the unexpected resignation.

“I’ve not been fully briefed on the details surrounding any resignation – actual or proposed – and once I have that information, certainly I will look to bring the parties together to see how we can resolve the issues that have come about,” she told reporters outside Cabinet.

“But, the important thing we must remember is that Junkanoo, as I said before, is bigger than all of us.

“It has been before all of us and I gather it will be here after all of us and so we must make the best of what we have. We must try to preserve what we have, honour what we have and respect what we have. And, the only way we will do that is also by respecting each other. We’ll always have differences, but it’s how we resolve those matters is what history is going to speak of us at the end of the day.

“…It’s certainly surprising to hear what has transpired over the last few days, but what we want to do is continue to come together as a cultural community.”

Her comments to the press came after the group announced on Monday they will no longer be participating in upcoming parades managed by the JCNP.

The group has taken issue with the results of the junkanoo parades, which crowned the Saxon Superstars as the official winners of both the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day events, as well as several aspects of the Independent Review Committee’s (IRC) final report.

Despite being declared the unofficial Boxing Day parade winners, the official results placed the Valley Boys as second after a three-point penalty.

As for the New Year’s Day parade, Saxons Superstars came in first with 84.50 points, Valley Boys second with 81.44 points, One Family third with 81.10, and Roots fourth with 76.39 points.

“We trust that a new entity will be put in place to manage future Boxing Day and New Year’s Day parades so that justice and fairness can prevail in future Junkanoo competitions,” said Valley Boys chairman Brian Adderley in response to the results.

However, this is not the first time the Valley Boys has been a victim to such changes.

In 2017, the group was declared the victor according to unofficial results for the 2017 New Year’s Day parade, but lost the official title to Roots.

Defending the judging of the parades, JCNP president Dion Miller said on Monday: “The JCNP takes every precaution to make sure the parade is fair... My job is (to ensure) that the process is fair, is transparent, and doing what we supposed to be doing and I’m quite confident and quite comfortable with that.”

“The JCNP has a combination of about 24 or 25 groups, the Valley Boys is one group in that pie. So we have six other category A groups. The JCNP represents a collective. So we look out for the best interest of all of our groups.”

Noting that officials are hoping to bring an amicable solution to the matter, Mrs Rolle said her ministry is committed to preserving Bahamian culture.

“The Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence is a private entity and so is the Valley Boys, so I wouldn’t say (that we will) intervene, but (we) certainly look to bring parties together and in any way we can bring peace and in any we can assist in bringing resolve, that is the what the Ministry of Culture is here for - to preserve, to promote, to advance and enhance the culture of the people of the Bahamas.”

Asked if she thinks the resignation will impact the attendance of future parades, the youth minister replied: “I think this is very early to draw any sort of conclusions, but if I know the Junkanoo community as I’ve come to know them, these are people of passion, first of all for their culture.

“And, I believe that whatever it’s going to take to ensure that they can produce a parade that people will be pleased with and that will represent our culture…they’re going to come together with a resolve to ensure that culture is reserved and respected.

“I think the JCNP plays a pivotal role, an integral role in what the Junkanoo community does and... perhaps, there must be consideration for how there can be a rejuvenation of whatever there is they’re doing and there is always room for growth. But, I don’t want to dismiss the work that they’ve done and over the years, I believe there is a way that we can all come together to be able to coexist and that is what is important.”

The Valley Boys are expected to hold a general meeting later this week to address the issues arising from the parades.