"Calypsonians like Ajamu, Black Wizard, Inspector and Sheldon Douglas have been true cultural ambassadors. We have therefore recognised them for their contributions. However, there are those who are bent on destabilising the country year after year with their calypsos and still they are always placing in the top positions.

We cannot recognise such individuals. In the interest of the artform therefore, we will be bringing in foreign judges to judge the calypso competition this year". This is a summarised version of the Prime Minister's utterings at his political rally in Paradise concerning the calypso artform.

Keep in mind that this statement was made on a political platform. As you read this article, do not forget this single fact. After this announcement was made by 'his imperial majesty and Owner of Grenada', very few of the media houses gave it more than a cursory announcement. In fact, only MTV and Jericho of WEE FM seemed interested.

Now everybody who follows kaiso in Grenada, even if slightly, knows that this foreign judges thing has come about because I won the crown in 2005 and 2006. Most ordinary Grenadians who meet me from day to day greet me with more or less the same comments. " De man do for you dis year boy. You doh winning ah crown again".

Jericho has picked up on it as well and can hardly contain his glee. I listen to The Duke each and every morning and I am quite aware that as far as he is concerned, me winning a crown is tantamount to a bad nightmare. Additionally, he has felt over the years that the judges have given both himself and Croqueta a bad deal. Therefore, he is all for the foreign judges thing.

This is a brother who pontificates and preaches day after day about the system. His comments are always scathing and he never misses an opportunity to "flush" what he views as behaviours that are inappropriate.

This proclamation, made by the leader of Grenada, on a political platform is so inappropriate and yet he agrees with it. There is no flushing for this one simply because he believes that it would be in his best interest and of course, I would not win the crown either; so, to hell with inappropriateness.

Let me remind my brother Jericho that Jesus was against Satan and his temptations. Now when he was hungry and Satan tempted him by offering to change stone to bread, he could have easily said, "boy man hungry. Give me de bread eh Satan".

But no; he was against Satan's temptations even when it would have been in his interest. The moral of this story is plain. When you are against slackness, you must be against it always and not be for it when you feel you could gain from it. Now if it was to you that Satan had made that offer you would have eaten a bakery of bread that day.

Now there are a few issues concerning this foreign judges business that I would love persons like Jericho and others to critically examine. For starters, are Grenadian judges incompetent or are they not coming up with decisions that please some calypsonians and  the Prime Minister and dem?

The Prime Minister clearly stated that some calypsonians destabilise the country and still place in the top. By destabilising the country, I suppose he means singing about issues that affect the common man and blazing wrong doers in high positions. Funny enough, when I was blazing NDC in 93, 94 and 95, he loved my songs as a frustrated Indian loves his gramoxone and back then I was not destabilising the country.

Now his utterings clearly show that the foreign judges are coming for one purpose. Not to judge fairly and competently, but to ensure that people who 'destabilise' the country do not win the crown. Another pertinent issue has to be, where are these foreign judges coming from? I follow calypso competitions all over the region and I speak with fellow calypsonians from other countries.

Every country has problems with judges. For the last five or six years, decisions in Trinidad's calypso competition have ended up in court every year. This year, Cro Cro's winning of the crown was not well accepted by Trinis at all.

Don't talk about the International Soca and Groovy Monarch judging. Most people are convinced that the competitions are judged weeks before the show. The results are usually so atrocious. In St. Lucia, it is common for the judges to be stoned by the audience. St. Vincent too has a lot of problems with judges, and Antiguan calypsonians swear that Antiguan judges are the worst in the world. Yet, these countries do not send for foreign judges. They stick with their own.

The simple fact is that all territories have problems with judges simply because by its nature, judging is fraught with subjectivity and everyone will never agree with the decision that a panel of judges make. The judges from other countries are no better than those here. As a matter of fact, they are worse in most cases so tell me please, where are we going to get these better judges from?

Frankly, I'm bemused by all this nonsense about our judges not judging good and that persons are complaining so we need to get foreign judges. The truth is that people have complained about our judges for as long as I can remember. When in 1989, a set of Wizard's supporters went up to St. Andrew's and crowned him, it showed clearly that many Grenadians were not happy with the result.

Throughout the 80's and 90's when Ajumu was 'sharing licks like peas', a lot of people were not convinced that he was winning all those crowns. One remembers a story about a female judge in those days who gave an artiste 110 points out of 100 and said that she just loved the fellow.

Yet through all this no one spoke about bringing foreign judges which begs the question - Why now? Besides, when Ajamu won in 2004, no one spoke about foreign judges either. Funny enough though, of the seven judges who judged in 2004, five of them judged in 2005 and 2006 and the two who did not judge were replaced by Leon Charles and Hayden Slinger.

So, these judges were beyond reproach in 2004 and suddenly changed in 05, 06 and became the most thieving, incompetent judges that this country has ever seen. Who the hell is fooling who?   
Another thing that calypsonians like Jericho and Croqueta need to ask themselves is who will be sourcing and choosing these foreign judges. In short, who will be giving them their mandate? Well, the announcement was made on the NNP platform, so it will not be terribly hard to guess who.

One remembers hearing in the late 1990's of a proposal that was made for a Minister of government to pick judges to judge calypso. Now, the way that Jericho 'does blaze dem people and dem' I do not know why he feels he will fare better. Finally and most importantly is the fact that up to this day the authorities are as tardy as can be concerning the organising of carnival.

According to Tommy Matthew, chairman of the carnival committee,"we silent but we doh dead". Up until now, a number of persons are still to be paid for last year's carnival. There has been a pappyshow launch; That's it.

Yet with all these things to take care of, the first announcement that is made is that foreign judges will be brought in this year. This is slackness to the highest degree.

A couple of years ago, I went to a forum in Trinidad. It was September and delegates from St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbados, though their carnival had just taken place, were able to supply us with brochures and flyers giving information about their carnival the following year.

These are people who are interested in carnival. Now if they claim that the judges here are incompetent and consequently we need foreign judges, don't we need a foreign carnival secretariat, Minister of Culture and cultural foundation? They are clearly more incompetent than any judge.

In conclusion, let me say to all those who feel that I am scared of foreign judges that you could not have been more wrong. I am opposed to foreign judges because of the reasons that I have mentioned but I am definitely not afraid once these judges are credible.

In fact, I have some very bad news for those who feel that foreign judges will signal the start of my doomsday. I was judged by a panel of foreign judges in the Carifesta competition and I won the first round beating performances like 'Voices in the Ghetto' by Sandra. The bad news is that this is one of the songs that I will be singing this year.

So really I have nothing to fear, but principle is principle and this move to send for foreign judges can never engender my support.
Bring down foreigners to run carnival and the Culture ministry. Only then will I think of supporting foreign judges; only then.

Scholar