Royal holiday for TCI
The royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29th 2011 will now be a public holiday for residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
At its meeting last week, the governor's Advisory Council agreed to mark the special occasion April 29 with a public holiday.
The royal couple, both 28, got engaged while on holiday in Kenya in October and will tie the knot on Friday, April 29. Shortly after the long awaited announcement, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron declared the day a public holiday. There is already the May Day holiday on the following Monday, making for a festive four-day weekend for the country.
It will take place at Westminster Abbey, a venue that has hosted the weddings of the Queen and Queen Mother and was the venue for Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997.
The government also announced last week the public holiday for Commonwealth Day will be observed on March 14.
Advisory Council meets
At their meeting on Wednesday 2nd March the Advisory Council reviewed a number of papers and recommendations presented by Chief Economic Adviser, Brian Titley. These included
(1) Establishing a new ordinance to facilitate the fractional ownership of property in the TCI
(2) Increasing operational flexibility in the TCI fishing industry to enable fleet operators to organize longer voyages into richer fishing grounds
(3) Amending the casino gaming tax régime to reduce the entry barriers for new small and medium sized casinos and introducing new legislation to facilitate and regulate sports betting and online gaming
(4) Amending the Land Holding Companies (Transfer Duty) Ordinance so that duty rates are aligned with the new stamp duty rates and valuation thresholds introduced in April last year
(5) Clarifying and rationalizing rules governing taxes and service charges levied by hotels and restaurants
Councillors subjected each recommendation to thorough scrutiny, with the proposed adjustment to the casino gaming tax giving rise to vigorous discussion. Councillors sought and received assurances that the amendment should not result in a rapid influx of new casinos or a dilution of controls to safeguard socially responsible gaming; rather it would level the playing field for existing operators and for any new investors in future. In consideration of the proposed adjustment to the Fisheries Protection Ordinance, there was a strong focus on ensuring that Belonger job opportunities would not be jeopardised by the change. The Acting Governor accepted the recommendations that will soon be brought before the Consultative Forum as necessary.
Mr. Titley said the changes involved modest but nonetheless important adjustments aimed at modernizing the economic and regulatory framework in the country and encouraging new activity’.
‘The great advantage of small economies should be their ability to react quickly and flexibly to changing market conditions. However, there are many obsolete laws and regulations in the Turks and Caicos Islands that impede this. Improving the regulation of markets, including through removing or modifying old and unnecessary legislation and restrictions, will remove some burdens on business and should release their potential for growth in the longer term’.
(1) Fractional ownership is a popular model for second and vacation homes in the US and Canada, and has been gaining interest in the region following the financial crisis and collapse in property markets in 2008. Fractional ownership overcomes the stigma, risks and complexity of timeshares by allowing purchasers to own part of the title of a property through shared ownership and usage. This can help boost sales and repeat visitor numbers.
Realtors in the Turks and Caicos Islands have welcomed the introduction of new rules to governing fractional ownership. Kathryn Brown, President of TCREA, said:
‘This is a positive step in encouraging investors to purchase real estate in the Turks and Caicos. Having a new ordinance in place creates a classification of regulations for the real estate professionals and more importantly, the clientele. For sellers it opens up an option that was not available previously. For the buyer it creates greater confidence to purchase’.
(2) The change to the fisheries protection ordinance will remove the requirement to employ a Belonger on every fishing vessel at all times while leaving open the opportunity for Belongers to work on the vessels and to participate in the wider fishing industry. The requirement for a Belonger to be on a vessel dates back many years and goes beyond current immigration and labour requirements for other business sectors. The industry has argued convincingly that it no longer reflects the economic and commercial realities facing the industry.
A number of industry representatives were invited to the meeting but some were unable to attend.
Mr. Jim Baker, CEO of Caicos Pride Products Ltd., who did attend along with Mr. Norman Saunders and Mr. Edwin Dickenson, said:
‘We are a small island economy and therefore well placed to have a vibrant fishing industry. Yet we have been in decline for years. We need to organize longer voyages to rich fin fishing grounds if we are to grow our industry to the benefit of South Caicos and all Islanders. If we cannot expand we cannot export or meet the volumes required by local supermarkets, households and restaurants, and we cannot provide much needed jobs and incomes’.
Fishing fleet operators have long reported problems attracting Belongers to work on their vessels and this was impacting severely on the viability of the industry. The Council members listened to arguments for and against removal of the restriction but agreed the industry should have the same operational flexibility as others in TCI while underlining the need for immigration and labour laws to be adhered to at all times.
Brian Titley also highlighted that he was discussing securing some funding from the Ministry of Finance for a laboratory capable of testing fishery products against a stringent set of international food safety requirements. This could allow locally caught produce to be sold into premium European markets and should also give local restaurants and supermarkets greater confidence to stock local fin fish.
(3) The Council membership agreed that modifying the casino gaming tax and removing restrictions on sports and online gaming would create a level playing field for inward investment in these sectors, providing an enhanced set of attractions to grow the tourist base with the potential for generating additional employment opportunities and a flow of public revenues. Council noted the need for strong oversight of the casino and gaming sector.
The new casino gaming income tax will be progressive with rates rising from 5% on the first $500,000 of monthly gaming table income to 20% on gaming income over $1.5 million per month. This reverses a system first introduced in TCI in 1999 for the American Casino based at the Allegro resort and which closed its doors for the last time in 2004. This tax structure is highly regressive with marginal tax rates starting at 15% and then falling to 2.5% on higher slices of income. This it was argued will inhibit the creation of new small and medium sized casinos, and therefore limit competition in the sector. It is uncompetitive in the region and will therefore reduce the attractiveness of the destination to some tourist market segments. The new rising rate structure will be revenue neutral at present but will allow TCI Government to share more in any upside in future casino revenue streams.
The Council also heard how the remote gaming global market is expanding rapidly and that many countries, including in the region, are competing to attract and regulate remote gaming operations to boost public revenues flows. These can include income from license fees and annual routing fees as a percentage of turnovers of offshore businesses in the sector. Council agreed it was prudent for Government to consider how to best to regulate, tax and encourage socially responsible sports and online gaming, rather than to seek ineffective ways to outlaw it and that TCIG should therefore investigate and import international best practice, including from Antigua and Barbuda, Gibraltar, Curacao, Australia, France and the UK.
(4) Land transfer duty is currently payable at 8% on the value of transfers of stock in land holding companies but is thought to be routinely avoided. In November 2009 the Government agreed an additional rate of just 0.2% should be introduced on the value of transfers of new equity issued to raise finance to help retire land holding companies retire expensive debt or fund business expansion.
The further changes announced at the Council meeting will now introduced progressive transfer duty rates that mirror those introduced for stamp duties in April 2010 and more significant penalties for transfer tax evasion. This move recognizes that the taxable base under both ordinances is essentially same, notably the underlying property being transferred either through direct purchase or sale of company stock. At present rates it means it will be cheaper to sell the title to a property worth say $1million than to sell $1 million of shares in the company holding the property since the former is taxed at just 6% on Providenciales or 3% on Grand Turk, as opposed to a land transfer duty rate of 8% on the latter. The reverse is true for sales of property over $3 million in value on Providenciales. The change will therefore remove this anomaly in the tax laws.
(5) Finally, the council noted that rules governing hotels and restaurants concerning the addition of restaurant taxes and service charges to final customer bills needed to be clarified to ensure, firstly, that all large restaurants were compliant and that service charges should be discretionary and added only as an optional payment to customer bills, at all establishments except those, like Beaches, that sell accommodation, meals and other services together as an all inclusive package. The council agreed that wherever service charges were collected they should be paid over in full to all employees. This removes the discretion of an employer at a non-inclusive resort to retain up to 40% of any service charge income and also removes the role for a Minister of Finance to determine allocation systems at individual establishments.
TCJE calls for Governor to respond or else
There is a new group of young leaders in the TCI and they are stepping up the pace to making a difference.
The group is called Turks & Caicos for Justice and Equality; they are calling on the Governor to answer the call and if he does not respond favaoribly, demonstrations will commence.
Attached is a letter sent to RTC News from the group.
March 3, 2011
His Excellency the Governor
Waterloo
Grand Turk
Dear Governor:
Our group, Turks and Caicos United for Justice and Equality, has been opposed to the suspension of our country’s Constitution and your Interim Administration from its inception, and over the last eighteen months, we feel that, given the lack of performance, the state of the social and economic order and the general feeling of malaise, uncertainty and fear that currently exist in the country, we feel that we have been vindicated and our initial misgivings about the current constitutional arrangements justified.
We are of the view therefore, that the time has come for us to formally seek, require and demand an immediate return to democratically elected government of, for and by the people, to chart the way forward for all of our people, and we now do so.
By this letter we give you notice that unless a date is announced for general elections and a return to democracy by 4 o’clock in the afternoon of March 7, 2011, we shall commence a sustained campaign to achieve such a return to democracy, until such time as that has been accomplished.
We thank you for your attention to this matter and look forward to your response before the date listed above.
Yours sincerely
TURKS AND CAICOS UNITED FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY
Euwonka Selver
What do you think about the groups demands? sound of below.
Double national record for Delano Williams
Delano Williams, representing Munro College here at the Milo Western Athletics Championships being held at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, erased both his country's - Turks and Caicos Islands - 100m and 200m national records.
Williams, pushed in both events by Green Island's Odail Todd, recovered from a slow start to stop the clock in 10.51 seconds. Williams' time beat the old Turks and Caicos Islands record of 10.60, which he established during the Jamaica's High School Championships last year.
Todd was relegated to third in 10.73, behind Andrew Fisher of STETHS (10.66).
Williams also lowered his country's 200m senior record when he crossed the line in 20.73 seconds to take the sprint double. His time beat the previous Turks and Caicos Islands record of 21.05, held by Darian Forbes.
David Haye to fight Wladimir Klitschko in summer
WBA heavyweight champion David Haye will fight IBF and WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko in Germany on either 25 June or 2 July.
On Saturday, Klitschko withdrew from his bout against Britain's Dereck Chisora that was set for 30 April.
And Haye told the BBC that an agreement had been struck on Saturday night: "I finally had a contract in front of me and couldn't wait to put pen to paper.
"It's the fight every boxing fan has to see, and every sports fan."
A protracted recovery from a stomach muscle injury was given as the reason for Klitschko cancelling the Chisora fight.
Klitschko's manager, Bernd Boente told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that the fight against Haye could take place at one of three football stadiums - Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen or Kaiserslautern.
The announcement brings to a conclusion the long-running saga to get the bout staged.
A back injury forced Haye, the WBA champion, to withdraw from a fight with Klitschko in 2009. And talks stalled last December with the two camps wrangling over the details of the contest.
Haye continued: "The fight will be either June 25 or July 2, either date is fine by me.
"He is ranked by many as the best heavyweight in the world - in front of myself, even though I'm the WBA champion."
On the negotiation process, Haye said: "He wanted all these little things - he's a bit precious, is Wladimir, so I gave him all these little things to make him feel like he'd got a mental edge.
"The terms were right, it's a fair deal - it's a 50-50 split, that's what they wanted and that's what I wanted.
"I'll just make sure the referee can count to 10, then I'm the new unified heavyweight champion of the world.
"Here it is - end of June, beginning of July - let's get ready to rumble."
Haye claimed that he has already begun preparation for the fight.
"I've been training, I've been out in Miami and done two months of hardcore conditioning, ready for the hardcore boxing training," he said.
"I'm firing on all cylinders, I can't wait to get Wladimir in that ring - it's the fight I've wanted for so long."
Strauss savours thrilling victory over South Africa
Andrew Strauss spoke of his relief as England beat South Africa by six runs despite being bowled out for only 171.
"There are plenty of things we didn't do well in this game but we got away with a win," captain Strauss admitted after a thrilling finish in Chennai.
"Sometimes a win is all you need to really kick-start things.
"We thought the wicket was going to deteriorate but we should have got 230. We're delighted to win and we move on with high hopes of achieving things."
Prior to this classic comeback England were involved in a high-scoring tie against India and a shock three-wicket defeat against minnows Ireland. They even stretched their fans' patience in their opening match against Group B outsiders The Netherlands before settling the matter late in the day.
"We're definitely doing our bit to advertise the 50-over format but we'd like games to be a little bit less close than they are," Strauss commented.
"We had to respond well after the defeat to Ireland. I thought the guys in the field were outstanding and it puts us back on track in this World Cup and it couldn't come a day too soon.
"The spinners were outstanding earlier on and then the seamers just banged a length down consistently which is what you need to do on wickets like that.
"It was a huge game for us and it was a far better performance. After the Ireland game we needed to show some character," added Strauss before admitting that England had lost the plot badly with the bat after winning a helpful toss.
"To lose three wickets early on a pitch like that was criminal really. Thankfully Jonathan Trott and Ravi Bopara got us back in the hunt."
Even then, the hard work was still to be done.
"You're not going to defend 170-odd very often, so you need things to go your way," said the captain, who reserved special praise for off-spinner Graeme Swann.
"Swanny bowled exceptionally well, while Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad made crucial breakthroughs at the right time when the ball was reversing.
Bopara, brought back into the side at the expense of Paul Collingwood, responded by hitting 60, his career-best at this level. It was enough to win him the man-of-the-match award, though Broad (4-15) was entitled to feel hard done by.
"I'm very pleased with the result - but the man of the match should have gone to Stuart," concurred Bopara.
"I know he didn't bowl his full quota of 10, but when he did bowl he was a massive difference and made it count.
"When me and Trotty got together we realised after about 20 minutes it wasn't a great wicket and thought 200 would be a good score.
"We fell short, but we knew it would turn and reverse."
South Africa captain Graeme Smith found himself answering all-too-familiar questions afterwards, principally about his team's reputation as "chokers" at big tournaments.
They already have two wins on the board, though, and still ought to progress to the last eight with ease.
"It's obviously disappointing not to get over the line. I felt we had enough to do it at 120-3," said Smith.
"Losing those two wickets in such a short space of time was a big blow. I think Broad and Jimmy bowled particularly well with the reverse-swinging ball today. It's always tough to face when they get it to reverse both ways.
"Credit to them for the skill they showed today. They were able to create a lot of pressure on the guys."
Rose scores 27 as Bulls add to Heat misery, 87-86
The perspectives could not have been more different. Luol Deng either got pushed in the back by Mike Miller on what became one of the final two game-deciding moments, or tripped over his own feet stumbling for a rebound.
That point could be argued.
What's inarguable, however, is this: Another final-second opportunity slipped away from the Miami Heat , and the Chicago Bulls - spurned last summer in their bids to land Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh - swept all three regular-season meetings from the team that signed them.
The Big 3? They're No. 3 in the East at this point, after Derrick Rose scored 27 points, Deng capped an 18-point effort with two free throws on a debated play with 15.9 seconds remaining, and the Bulls beat Miami 87-86 on Sunday to hand the Heat their fourth straight loss.
"The Miami Heat are exactly what everyone wanted, losing games," Wade said. "The world is better now because the Heat is losing."
Carlos Boozer scored 12 and Joakim Noah added 11 for the Bulls, who moved a game ahead of Miami into outright possession of second place in the Eastern Conference. Chicago was down by 12 late in the first half, then became the fourth team since Feb. 24 to erase a double-digit deficit against the Heat.
"We have guys who can close," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Few would say that Miami doesn't - but closing games has been, and continues to be, the biggest Heat challenge.
James had a chance to win it on a drive with 6 seconds left, missing a contested shot, and Wade's desperation toss from the right baseline bounced away as time expired.
Those were the 12th and 13th consecutive shots that the Heat have missed with a chance to tie or lead a game in the final 10 seconds of regulation or overtime. James has missed four in this four-game losing streak alone.
"I told my team, I'm not going to continue to fail late in games," James said. "I put a lot of blame on myself tonight. I told the guys that I just keep failing them late in games and I won't continue to do that."
James scored 26 points, Bosh added 23 and Wade had 20 for the Heat, who put together a rally to take the lead in the final minute.
The Heat were down 82-76 with 3:30 left when Rose made a jumper over Miller, before Mario Chalmers led the comeback effort. He hit a 3-pointer to tie it with 1:05 left, then blew past a closeout for an easy layup from the left side that put the Heat ahead 86-84 with 25 seconds remaining.
With Chicago down by two, Deng made one free throw, missing the second. Noah got a hand on the ball, keeping James and Erick Dampier from grabbing it cleanly, and in the chase for the carom referee Tony Brothers called a foul on Miller for pushing Deng in the back.
"Looked like he tripped on his own," Bosh said.
Deng went back to the line and made both this time, putting Chicago in front.
"That's the right call," Rose said.
The ball went to James, who drove on Noah and missed a layup from the left block. Wade got the rebound, tried a 15-footer from the baseline that bounced away, and time expired as the Bulls leaped in celebration and Thibodeau punched the air.
"We're just trying to play the best we can," Noah said. "I think we still have a long way to go and we can get a lot better. That's what is so exciting about this team. Our defense is really improving. We can still improve offensively as well. We can take this pretty far."
Spoelstra said some players were moved to tears in the Heat locker room. This much is clear: He and the Heat are hurting.
"One of these days, we will break through," Spoelstra said.
Down nine at the half, the Bulls shot 39 percent in the third quarter, still managing to outscore Miami 23-16 thanks to five Heat turnovers, a 14-9 edge in rebounding - and Rose, who made a ridiculous shot early in the period look ridiculously simple.
Even a 1-on-2 break - him against Wade and James, no less - went Chicago's way. Rose bumped slightly into Wade to create separation on his drive downcourt, then leaped, double-clutched so James could fly harmlessly by from the left wing, and then spun a left-handed layup off the glass to cut Miami's lead to 54-50.
He skipped back upcourt, head back confidently, pumping up teammates. And Rose stayed that way until the finish.
"We're just taking it for what it is," Rose said. "We're just trying to win games, play hard and play aggressive on both ends."
Kuyt hat trick leads Liverpool to a 3-1 rout over Manchester United
Premier League leader Manchester United stumbled to a second straight defeat by losing 3-1 at fierce rival Liverpool, and fifth-place Tottenham conceded a late goal to 3-3 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
Dirk Kuyt scored twice in the first half and again in the 65th to complete his first hat trick for Liverpool, ensuring United wasn't able to capitalize on second-place Arsenal's draw against Sunderland on Saturday.
United, which grabbed a late consolation through Javier Hernandez, remained three points above Arsenal having played a game more. Manchester City, which downed Wigan 1-0 on Saturday, is four points further back in third.
Steven Fletcher's late header earned Wolves a deserved draw against Spurs, whose England striker Jermain Defoe scored twice for his first goals of the season. Tottenham drew level on points with fourth-place Chelsea, which visits Blackpool on Monday.
United, whose defense looked creaky at Anfield without center backs Nemanja Vidic (suspended) and Rio Ferdinand (injured), has now lost three of its last five matches to keep the title race wide open.
Manager Alex Ferguson, facing a charge of improper conduct after his criticism of a referee following the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on Tuesday, refused to speak to the media after the game but Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was more than happy to.
"We know it's a good victory for us,'' said Dalglish, whose side moved above Bolton into sixth, six points behind Chelsea and Tottenham but having played more games.
"We know Manchester United are a great benchmark but our season is not finished. We want to keep going.''
Luis Suarez wriggled past three defenders to set up Kuyt for his close-range opener in the 34th, and the Netherlands forward nodded in his second five minutes later after Nani had made a hash of his clearing header, instead diverting the ball back toward his own goal.
Kuyt completed the haul by tapping in the rebound after Edwin van der Sar failed to hold Suarez's free kick, giving the Reds enough breathing space to allow them to throw recent record signing Andy Carroll off the bench for his debut.
"To make a hat trick against United is the best feeling ever. I have to thank Luis Suarez because he played great today and created two of the three goals,'' Kuyt said.
"We showed that we can compete against the best but we need to compete against the other sides.''
Ryan Giggs had a quiet match on his club-record 607th appearance for United, but the veteran winger did at least set up Hernandez late on for the Mexico striker's 10th league goal of the season.
Fletcher's goal, when he rose to meet Matt Jarvis' cross three minutes from time, denied Spurs a win that would have lifted them above Chelsea, dealing them a blow in their bid to qualify for the Champions League for a second straight season.
"It's a blow,'' Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said. "It looked like we got three points and I hoped we'd won. I thought we deserved to win - we got three fantastic goals, amazing strikes - and had chances to kill it off.''
Defoe canceled out Kevin Doyle's opening goal in the 20th with two sensational long-range strikes in the space of five minutes to end his drought this season. They were his first goals since April last year.
Doyle equalized from the penalty spot in the 40th for his second of the game, but Roman Pavlyuchenko put Spurs back in front before Fletcher's late strike.
Redknapp could at least celebrate the return to action of star winger Gareth Bale, who came on as a substitute for the final 20 minutes having missed the last six weeks with a back injury.
The point kept Wolves second from bottom, but the central England team is now two from safety and on current form looks too good to go down.
"It looks like being a high number of points to stay up, but with that spirit and commitment I still think we'll stay up,'' said Wolves manager Mick McCarthy, whose side has beaten United, City, Chelsea and Liverpool this season.
'Rango' No. 1 at box office with $38 million
Paramount's "Rango," the animated Western starring Johnny Depp and directed by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy), lassoed the year's biggest three-day opening so far with $38 million, according to studio estimates.
That's a bit less than "How to Train Your Dragon's" $43.7 million debut last March. But that film benefited from 3-D surcharges, while "Rango" was one of the rare animated films not to be released in 3-D these days. The movie cost $135 million to produce and marked the first animated feature ever designed entirely by the visual-effects house Industrial Light & Magic.
Despite stellar reviews, "Rango" garnered a dispiriting "C+" grade from CinemaScore audiences. Adults, in particular, didn't enjoy the ride, with those 25 and up rating the movie a "C." That's rather odd since the PG-rated movie was stuffed with cinematic references and the kind of offbeat humor best appreciated by grownups.
In second was the romantic sci-fi thriller "The Adjustment Bureau," which collected $20.9 million. The Universal release gave Matt Damon his best leading-man opening since 2007's "The Bourne Ultimatum," while costar Emily Blunt, who also voices Juliet in "Gnomeo & Juliet," now has two movies in the top five.
"Bureau" skewed older, with 73 percent of its audience at least 30 years old, and CinemaScore moviegoers gave the PG-13 film a "B" grade.
The fantasy romance "Beastly" snared third place with $10.1 million. While by no means a stupendous gross, the result is nonetheless a minor victory for CBS Films.
The distributor produced the PG-13 film for $17 million and then marketed it almost exclusively to teenage girls. The target audience took the bait, as 78 percent of the audience was female and 47 percent was under the age of 18. The film, a modern-day reinterpretation of Beauty and the Beast starring Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer, received a "B+" from CinemaScore participants.
The week's other new release, the '80s-set comedy "Take Me Home Tonight," let down Eddie Money fans everywhere. The R-rated film, which was shot way back in 2007, earned just $3.5 million from 2,003 locations -- enough for an 11th-place finish.
If the estimate holds, that'll represent the worst debut for a film playing in at least 2,000 theaters since 2009's "Bandslam" premiered to $2.2 million.
The Best Picture Oscar-winner "The King's Speech" dropped 11 percent for $6.5 million, bringing the historical drama's cumulative gross to a regal $123.8 million.
Check back next week as aliens once again play "Destroy that Landmark" in "Battle: Los Angeles." Also being released: The gothic thriller "Red Riding Hood" and the motion-capture animated film "Mars Needs Moms."
Neal & Massey wins $2 million in Panaroma
Leon Smooth Edwards' arrangement of It’s Showtime helped the Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars to their sixth Panorama win and the TT$2 million first prize for large bands early this morning.
Katzenjammers were smiling all the way back to neighbouring Tobago, after tying on 275 for first place with Valley Harps of Petit Valley in the medium bands final. Katzenjammers won with the Edwin Pouchet-arranged Wake Up, while Do Something For Pan, which was arranged by Michelle Huggins-Watts, did it for Valley Harps.
All Stars opened the finals of the large band category on a flourish with the Anslem Douglas track, and made a big enough impression on the judges that was evidently not erased by the nine other bands that followed. They scored 278 points to the top the standings.
Winning large band song It’s Showtime was one of the more popular ones on the night, with four of the 20 bands playing it for their finals bid. Destra’s Calling Meh had a similar number of plays. Destra, who took third place in the Pla Whe Groovy Soca competition as the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Friday night, was actually on stage as the flag person with the fourth placed medium band Courts Sound Specialists of Laventille, as they played the Ken Professor Philmore arrangement. Sagicor Exodus was two points behind with 276 to take the second spot with Destra’s Calling Meh. The runner-up piece was arranged by Pelham Goddard.
Defending champs PCS Silver Stars was denied the chance of scoring hattrick and had to settle for third with It’s Showtime, which was arranged by Pelham Goddard. Based on the scores, they were not disgraced. The 275 points amassed was just three points behind that of the winning All Stars. Indeed it was a close competition throughout. Last-placed RBC/RBTT Redemption Sound Setters finished with 268, 10 behind the winners.
There was more excitement for the Tobago crew, as the NLCB Buccooneers took third in medium bands with the Seion Gomez arrangement of Calling Meh. They scored 269.
Winning large band song It’s Showtime was one of the more popular ones on the night, with four of the 20 bands playing it for their finals bid. Destra’s Calling Meh had a similar number of plays. Destra, who took third place in the Pla Whe Groovy Soca competition as the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Friday night, was actually on stage as the flag person with the fourth placed medium band Courts Sound Specialists of Laventille, as they played the Ken Professor Philmore arrangement.
Meanwhile, a number of steel bands and sound trucks will are expected to play accompanying music as thousands, including a large Barbadian contingent, take to the Trinidad Streets today and tomorrow for the two-day masquerade for the bands.
Speaking at the prize-giving of the bMobile Soca Monarch on Saturday morning, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said she expected this year’s Carnival to be massive. She said reports to her indicated all hotel rooms were booked and that the bands, costumes and fetes had been sold out. Police and other security forces are expected to be out in full force to ensure the safety of Trinidadians and visitors alike as they go out to the finals events for Carnival 2011.