By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

WORLD Famous Valley Boys chairman Brian Adderley has accused Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Mario Bowleg of damaging the group’s reputation and sponsorship prospects by prematurely claiming “there’s only one Valley Boys”.

Asked if the group’s ability to secure sponsorship has been impacted, he said: “Yes, it is because the intent of the minister’s statement, whether it’s deliberate or inadvertent, was to suppress potential sponsorship to the group. Also, when the minister of government speaks, potential sponsors take note, and so his statements are also being reviewed by our legal team as we feel that he’s injured us with those statements.”

Mr Adderley said the minister’s remarks, made while allocating government seed funding, misrepresented the legal dispute over the Valley Boys’ name. He insisted the courts have not conclusively ruled against his group, which is appealing the Registrar General’s decision to deregister them earlier this year for failing to comply with a directive to drop “Valley Boys” from their name.

He claimed that as recently as September 17, in a meeting with Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence (JCNP) executives, Mr Bowleg assured him the Valley Boys would remain eligible for funding despite the appeal. Their exclusion on presentation day, when the splinter group led by Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis’ brother, Trevor Davis, received funding only, he described as a betrayal.

Mr Adderley also argued the Attorney General’s involvement in the case creates a conflict of interest because the office is representing the Registrar General while also advising the government.

The World Famous Valley Boys chief questioned why the government has now taken back direct control of seed funding decisions, saying the JCNP was historically responsible for making recommendations to avoid political interference. He called the government’s stance “deliberate” and an attempt to weaken his group’s competitiveness, saying, “Now, Junkanoo is supposed to be the national pastime of The Bahamas, and you would want everybody to be involved in the spirit of competition. Why are you singling out one group to penalise them?”

Mr Adderley went further, blasting the proposed Junkanoo Authority Bill as unnecessary overreach. “You must ask yourself, what national emergency there is with Junkanoo that requires the government to waste public resources on the Junkanoo Authority? What national emergency is there for the government to want to control Junkanoo?” he asked. “Why is the government trying to own Junkanoo? It’s a creative thing, it’s creative as hell. You can’t legislate it.”

Mr Bowleg has dismissed the claims of victimisation, saying Mr Adderley’s faction was excluded because it failed to register with his ministry and provide compliance documents. He called it “disingenuous” to suggest otherwise, insisting that funding rules apply to all groups.

Despite the dispute, Mr Adderley pledged the Valley Boys will march this Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. “The Saxons would like that, because they would do anything to try to win the parade,” he said, referring to a situation where his group does not participate. “But we will be there, and we will beat them,” he added, boasting that the Valley Boys’ record of five straight wins “will not be broken.”

He added that, with or without government seed money, the Valley Boys would “continue their tradition of excellence” on Bay Street.