Businessman Inshan Ishmael wants the National Carnival Commission’s (NCC) financials and has gone to court to get them.
On September 18, Justice Margaret Mohammed permitted Ishmael to challenge the NCC’s failure to provide its financials for funds received from the government and private sponsors to host the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Carnivals.
Ishmael is seeking an order to compel the NCC to supply the documents and a declaration that it has breached its statutory duty under the Freedom of Information Act.
A case management conference has been set for December 5.
In his original request, apart from the NCC’s financials, Ishmael also asked for proof of the $1 billion income the commission’s chairman, Winston “Gypsy” Peters, said it earned in 2024. He also wants to know what activities and events the NCC sponsors outside of Carnival.
Ishmael said after he made his request in February, the NCC asked for extensions to respond. However, at the end of July, when he also received no response to a pre-action letter, he filed his judicial review application.
“Financial statements ought to be readily available and easily accessible to public authorities. “One of the main cornerstones of the FOIA is to enable citizens to access official documents namely financial information.
“It is untenable for a public authority to continue to delay the supply of these types of documents given the nature of the request,” he said in his lawsuit.
He also said the timely supply of documents was critical to the principles of the FOIA, and “public authorities ought not to unreasonably flaunt it and claim delay just for nuisance purposes.”
In a media interview on February 16, 2024, Peters said Carnival 2024 was a success even though the $147 million allocation was insufficient. However, he said the NCC’s books were in the red despite.
Peters estimated that Carnival 2024 brought in more than $1 billion in revenue.
“The money that Carnival brings in is very significant...We bring in about $1.4 to $5 billion,” he said.
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