IF you are keeping score in the battle between the government and Junkanoo organisers – then the fact no groups turned out to join in the Emancipation Day rushout in Fox Hill might be seen as one in favour of the Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence (JCNP). Make no mistake, however, there were no winners here.

Amid an argument over a proposed National Junkanoo Authority Bill which sees a stand-off between government officials and JCNP leaders, the Emancipation rushout was a casualty.

The bill, says the JCNP, is a bid to erode the self-governance of the Junkanoo community. It is a power grab, you might say.

In response, the JCNP announced – with unanimous support, it said – a suspension of all Junkanoo-related activity. That included Emancipation events. That included Fox Hill.

What did that mean? Well, the Genesis Junkanoo group showed interest in taking part at Fox Hill – only to allegedly be told it might face suspension and a loss of priviliges.

Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell issued a rallying cry for groups to show up and show unity for the day. They did not.

Fox Hill Festival chairman Warren Davis said that Genesis had intended to come to the event “no matter what”. That determination did not last long, it seems.

Attendance was down by about three-quarters, organisers said. Mr Mitchell’s call went ignored.

Instead of a six-hour party, the rush was done in an hour or so.

Some individuals from the groups came out – a Valley Boys drum here, a Congos insignia there.

The ones who hurt the most were the vendors. Vendors cannot make sales if people are not there. Empty streets mean empty pockets.

Mr Davis, interestingly enough, while saying that he thought there would be no repercussions for those who did take part in the rush, used the word “attack”. He said: “I don’t think the attack is on Junkanoo. I think the attacks are on different groups.”

The rhetoric is the language of confrontation, not the language of two sides trying to find common ground.

The government has talked of how Junkanoo does not just belong to New Providence – and that is right. But neither does it belong to the hands of government. It belongs to the people.

The government provides seed money for parades, certainly – but given how Junkanoo is such a significant part of how The Bahamas markets itself to the world, it is fair to say that Junkanoo deserves to be given support in return.

As for how much faith we can have in the government making the most of Junkanoo, how well is that working for the various state-owned enterprises in our country?

Historically, how has BPL and its predecessor BEC fared between soaring bills and power outages? How about Bahamasair with its constant need for public money? Does the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas deliver value for money? Government involvement is in no way, shape or form a guarantee of efficient operation.

That Junkanoo leaders took such a step is telling. Participants in Junkanoo groups are passionate. They want to be involved, they want to be rushing, they want to show their colours. Choosing not to do so shows how important this situation is to them.

Without doubt, there is a range of views. Some want to keep rushing regardless – and that desire should be respected too.

But what needs to be done most of all is for those two combative sides to sit down and discuss the matter.

This bill looks rushed. The consultation clearly has not been done thoroughly enough yet. Perhaps there is a way to help Junkanoo flourish throughout our islands, but it must not be by running roughshod over the organisations that are there at present.

Shelving the bill until there has been a proper consultation would be a sensible move. Pressing on regardless is a surefire way to alienate those for whom Junkanoo is an abiding part of their lives.

We have already seen significant disruption in the Junkanoo landscape last year in the battle over who gets to use the Valley Boys name and the divide that has seen two sides vying for that banner. We do not need to see another year of disruption from a tug-of-war over who gets control.

Doing that is a sure way to kill the passion for Junkanoo, far from encouraging it to grow.