2010 Chutney Monarch prize money still not paid
Wednesday, April 27 2011

TRINIDAD EXPRESS - The hosting of the annual National Chutney Monarch competition is in jeopardy because of the non-payment of prize money by the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism for last year's competition.

This according to the National Chutney Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago (NCFTT) which said in a statement Tuesday that Multiculturalism Minister Winston Peters gave approval for the payment of the prize money but to date the foundation has not received the cash.

"The minister met with members of the foundation and informed us that he has approved the payments and to date no payments have been issued by the ministry to the artiste.

"This is the first time in 17 consecutive years that the ministry is taking so long to issue payments, while many competitions were held long after and those have been paid," the NCFTT said.

It added, "The last competition took place on May 15, 2010 and the topic for the competition was Election Fever 2.

"The competition is being hampered for 2011 because the prizes have not been paid. NCFTT is of the view that persons are deliberately ignoring the minister's approval and are causing the competition to be jeopardised."