The audited accounts for the Cricket World Cup event held here in 2007 will be released before the end of this year, Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony has promised.

In an interview with this newspaper, Dr Anthony said that he is now in possession of the draft of the audited accounts, which would have to be reviewed again before being released.  

He did not give any reason for the lengthy delay but said his ministry had to wait until the auditors were finished doing their job. The World Cup was held in March of 2007.

Meanwhile, the minister said the Carifesta accounts will be audited at the end of the year, when the general accounts of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport will be handed over to the Auditor General’s office. He told this newspaper that the Carifesta Secretariat was not set up as an independent body as was the case with the Local Organising Committee for CWC 2007. Consequently, all the money spent on Carifesta was first released to his ministry by the Ministry of Finance, before being passed on to the Carifesta Secretariat. Anthony said that after these accounts have been audited they will be disclosed to the public.

The minister also said that while 95% of the Carifesta performers and employees have been paid, there were still a few persons awaiting payment. He, however, declined to disclose who these persons were. He added that the ministry is currently in the process of finalizing these payments.

After the conclusion of Carifesta, several performers and employees of the secretariat had to wait for months before they were eventually paid by the ministry.

In the meantime, the minister clarified the issue with the pans used by National Steel Orchestra during Carifesta. He explained that some of the pans had been purchased by the joint services were theirs to keep. The other pans had been purchased by his ministry and were in the ministry’s possession.

He said that contrary to what is being peddled in some quarters, it was never his ministry’s intention to donate the pans acquired for Carifesta to different communities or steel pan groups. Anthony said the ministry had spent $10M to acquire the pans which were of a high quality and was committed to preserving its investment. He said the pans were being used and during the Christmas season, members of the National Steel Orchestra will be out on the streets playing carols. 

Anthony also said that his ministry is open to giving school children access to the pans, and added that it would facilitate special training sessions for different schools and youth from various communities, once approached.