Need for audit of arts festival

 THE recently-ended Melanesian Festival of Arts and Culture has not lived up to expectation. 

This is not a criticism of the participants and their performances over the two-week long show but rather a reflection on the management of the event by the National Cultural Commission. 

The groups who showcased their culture through song, dance and arts and craft should be commended for their efforts. 

The same cannot be said for the organisers of the event. 

Although it was not a disaster in the literal sense of the word, one cannot help but feel that the management of the event and the overall quality left a lot to be desired. 

In fact, for the amount of money allocated and used for the event – at least K20 million – there was definitely a disconnect between the level of management and the significance of the event. 

Social media has been awash with the views of the public regarding the staging of the event. 

The vast majority of posters have said the same thing. The way the event was organised and managed was of a poor standard. 

Sports Minister Justin Tkat­chenko said at the conclusion of the event last Friday that the event was an “international embarrassment” and that he was “very interested” to see an audit on the whole affair completed and the findings presented to Parliament. 

The closing ceremony at the Sir John Guise Stadium grounds was indicative of the way the festival has been managed from the start. 

It was badly lit and the master of ceremony and speakers appeared to be addressing people off the cuff. 

The programme seemed a confusing, disjointed mess. 

It lacked a certain professional touch. 

And last week’s comment by a Facebook poster that the festival seemed like a regular school cultural show rang true. 

Tkatchenko said the Melanesian Arts and Cultural Festival was an international event and should have come under his ministry’s oversight. 

When Tkatchenko was appointed Sports Minister at the formation of the O’Neill Government a little over two years ago, one of his other duties was to be the minister responsible for national events, including the 2015 Pacific Games. 

Tkatchenko was in charge of the royal visit of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall in 2012. 

This festival, though not as big internationally as a royal visit, would have fallen in the minister’s purview.  

Why that was not the case is something even the minister himself is asking. 

One of the glaring problems with this year’s Melanesian Arts and Cultural Festival was that it was clear from the outset that the event needed a professional event manager and other expertise to ensure the best possible outcome for the host nation. Funding obviously was not the problem but the decision-making process was flawed. 

What happened was the National Cultural Commission opted to do things on its own and what was produced was an amateurish production. Even the organisers of the PNG Games, which will take place later this year, have hired from the private sector the best possible people to assist the host organising committee run the event which will see the at least 9000 participants travel to Lae for the two-week event. 

The PNG Games are a wholly national sports event but the organisers are giving it the treatment it deserves. 

Things like public relations, media liaising, construction and refurbishment of sports venues, equipment, team information, a Games website, etc… have all be taken into account. 

It is hard to fathom why the festival has fallen short of what it could have been. 

National Commission director Dr Jacob Simet has a lot of explaining to do and Tkatchenko is right to hold him responsible for the event and its success or failure. 

“The Melanesian festival is a bitter disappointment to me as minister because it could have been done 10 times better if they had come to us instead of being so hidden, selfish, and manipulative of the whole event,” Tkatchenko said. 

We hope the audit is executed forthwith and that those responsible for this mediocre effort can be pulled in line. Unfortunately, PNG will have to wait another 20 years before we get to host another festival.