By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor 

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Davis administration says it will move ahead with consultations on a National Junkanoo Authority bill, despite the Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence suspending all activities in protest over what it calls a rollback of self-governance and an attempt to centralise control.

The JCNP, which has managed New Providence’s major Junkanoo parades since 2004, voted unanimously on Monday to suspend all Junkanoo-related activities, including Emancipation Day events, practices, rush-outs, and side parades, until further notice. The JCNP said the decision followed a special meeting of leaders from registered A, B, and D Division groups, held in response to the introduction of the National Junkanoo Authority of The Bahamas Bill, 2025.

In a letter on Monday to Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg, the JCNP said: “We do not agree with, or accept the proposed Bill as presented.” The letter said the move to establish a new authority was “puzzling”, adding: “Why the government would wish to reverse the decision made in 2004, after 21 years of self-determination, harmony and success?”

The JCNP also warned that “members of one particular JCNP member group that are currently in a legal dispute with another JCNP member group have openly said through numerous publicly circulated voice notes and writings on various social media platforms, that they through their personal affiliations and connections with officials in the highest levels of government are in the process of destroying the JCNP, to the point of offering members of the JCNP jobs affiliated with the proposed body”.

The remarks appear to allude to the long-running and now legally entangled dispute within the Valley Boys Junkanoo group, which has fractured into two rival factions. One side, the “World Famous Valley Boys”, is led by Brian Adderley. The other, the “Way Forward Valley Boys”, is headed by Trevor Davis, the brother of Prime Minister Philip Davis. The feud has played out in the courts and on Bay Street.

The “World Famous” faction was officially deregistered as a non-profit in April after the Registrar General struck its name from the register, following a Supreme Court ruling that the group’s name was too similar to the original and could mislead the public. Meanwhile, the rival “Way Forward” secured a March judgment affirming their right to use the Valley Boys name.

Under the proposed bill, the new National Junkanoo Authority would consist of 15 members appointed by the minister. These include representatives from the JCNP, the National Junkanoo Committee, the Grand Bahama Junkanoo Corporation, the Family Island Junkanoo Corporation, various government agencies, cultural institutions, and one person deemed most representative of persons involved in Junkanoo music. Ten additional members would serve in an ex officio capacity.

The authority would be empowered to regulate all Junkanoo parades held under the aegis of the government, administer prize money and seed funding, issue licenses and approvals, and set national rules. It would control a new National Junkanoo Fund, funded through parliamentary appropriations, ticket sales, donations, and revenue-generating activities, and have the authority to borrow money, own property, and establish for-profit subsidiaries. It would also absorb the functions of the now-defunct National Junkanoo Committee and operate local committees across the islands.

Despite the JCNP’s strong pushback, the government said it will not pause the legislative process. In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture said: “The government has a constitutional responsibility to ensure its future is secure, its reach expanded, and its potential fully realised. We will move forward with the public consultation to establish the National Junkanoo Authority. We do so with confidence, conviction, and an open hand ready to engage all stakeholders who want to see Junkanoo flourish for generations to come.

“It is regrettable that the JCNP has chosen to misrepresent the intent of the government and politicise a process that is rooted in transparency, consultation, and national development.”

“Junkanoo belongs to the Bahamian people not to any single group or island.”

The government emphasised that the proposed authority would include representatives from Grand Bahama and the Family Islands and said this would be “the first time” the governance model offers that kind of national inclusion. “This is not being forced upon the community, nor developed in isolation,” the statement said.

The JCNP, meanwhile, encouraged Junkanooers and the public to continue supporting community celebrations during the suspension and emphasised its commitment to “protecting the legacy and integrity of Junkanoo.”