The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs has denied the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians' Organisation (Tuco) $19 million which they requested for Carnival 2010. Instead, the ministry granted Tuco only $8 million, the same figure it received in 2009. President of Tuco Eric Taylor said while the figure was impossible to work with "we will have to make it do." Of the $8 million allocated, Taylor said $4.5 million would be distributed as prizes for the calypso, political, extempo and humorous competitions. While $2 million will be handed to Classic Ruso, Kaiso Showcase, Kaiso Caravan and the Magnificent Glow tents, which are managed by Tuco, with the remaining balance being used to pay bills, staff and Internet services. "We were told by the ministry that we have to tighten our belts like everyone else due to the economic crisis."
This year Taylor envisages a larger turn out at the country's 14 tents because of the police's visibility on the streets. During auditions, Taylor said, acting COP James Philbert assured calypsonians that the police will be out in full force to ensure the safety of patrons. He said East Indians, who kept away from the tents for years because of the bashing of former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday and his wife Oma, were also returning. "Yes, we have not been all-inclusive, not by just the songs we sing, but we tend to see calypso belonging to a certain ethnic race. Last year we saw a significant increase with our turn outs, especially with the Indian community who kept away because of past songs." Taylor said while Sugar Aloes and Cro Cro were guilty of singing against the UNC, others also lashed the PNM as well.
"We were part of the problem that caused the tents to dwindle. But Tuco is working to correct that." Told that some calypsonians had complained that the only time they qualified for the Calypso Monarch finals was by singing in favour of the PNM, Taylor said that was the furthest from the truth, since a lot of singers who qualified as finalists sang about injustices and oppression. "Look, Chalkie sang about his Hart last year and won the crown."
Faced with the nagging issue of inexperienced adjudicators, Taylor said that last year advertisements were posted in the newspapers, requesting skilled adjudicators.
"Approximately 90 people came forward for screening, which was headed by Clifton Ryan, the Mighty Bomber and a panel." The list of adjudicators has since been narrowed to 57, with Justice Malcolm Holdip being the chief adjudicator. Taylor admitted that judges in the past were selected not on experience. "At least these new adjudicators would help minimise the complaints." Taylor said all judges would be rotated for preliminaries, semi finals and finals of competitions. Questioned why the seasoned calypsonians were not making room for the young singers, Taylor said this was an individual call. "Some of us just want to hold on to the turf like if it is ours. However, they need to create opportunities for others."