The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

THE National Junkanoo Committee has acknowledged shortcomings in the management of the Boxing Day Junkanoo Parade, saying failures in parade flow and enforcement led to significant gaps on Bay Street and discomfort for spectators, while confirming that longtime Grand Marshal Dwight Rolle was removed from the role as a result.

In a statement issued following Mr Rolle’s public comments, the NJC said its decision was based on what it described as “operational performance and adherence to established parade management protocols” and stressed that the matter was not personal. The committee said the role of the Grand Marshal is “clear and well-established”, with responsibility for efficiently bringing groups to the gate and ensuring the parade moves “smoothly and continuously”.

“On Boxing Day, it was evident to everyone — groups, officials, and spectators alike — that this did not occur,” the NJC said, pointing to lengthy gaps on the parade route that left empty seats and disrupted the overall experience.

The NJC said it issued instructions to the parade management team to allow Fun Groups and B Groups to parade on Bay Street to fill delays and “maintain momentum and protect the overall experience”, but claimed those instructions were not followed by the Grand Marshal.

The committee also addressed what it described as “lingering rumours”, insisting that a framework for penalties for infractions remained in place. It thanked Mr Rolle for his years of service and announced that Deputy Grand Marshal Vincent Johnson, assisted by Calvin Greene, will oversee the New Year’s Day Junkanoo Parade, particularly the A-Category groups.

Mr Rolle, who had served as Grand Marshal for six consecutive years, said he was informed of his removal during a meeting on Monday night with NJC chairman Douglas Hanna. He said he believed the meeting was to discuss preparations for the New Year’s Day parade and was surprised to be told he was being let go for being “disrespectful” and “not a team player”.

Mr Rolle said he made it clear that his approach to the role was grounded in enforcing rules and regulations rather than accommodating informal directives.

“I said to him: ‘Mr Hanna, I don’t operate as a team player, I operate by rules, regulations and facts,’” he said. “If you want team players, it ain’t gonna be me. If rules say don’t go left, you can’t ask me to go left. You do it yourself — and that’s what I stand by.”

He attributed many of the delays on Boxing Day to what he described as the absence of enforceable penalties, saying Junkanoo groups took advantage of that gap. The NJC, replacing the Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence as manager of the parades, removed disqualification as a penalty for groups that fail to follow certain rules.

Mr Rolle said: “Groups knowing that there was no disqualification, there was no penalties on the board, they were very disrespectful in coming to the gate. It wasn’t a decision made; it was conditions that they were faced with. There was no decision made for no penalties, but there was no penalty device for us to enhance penalty on the parade route.”

Mr Rolle said that while groups were placed “on the clock”, the lack of penalties meant there were no consequences when groups failed to mobilise on time. He rejected claims that parade management caused the delays, saying officials were in place by 8.35pm on Boxing Day and repeatedly warned at least one major group to prepare to enter the route well in advance of its start time, including in the presence of the NJC president.

According to Mr Rolle, that group remained at the gate for a further 20 minutes without penalty, and its clock was later withdrawn because another group was ahead of it, despite that group having left up to 45 minutes earlier.

He said the role of the Grand Marshal is to start groups, enforce timing and maintain order once the parade begins, without favour.

“We’re not here to please no particular group or no particular individual, only governed by rules and regulations,” he said.

Mr Rolle also raised concerns about operational decisions made on the night of the parade, including the late introduction of digital costume scanning, which the NJC had announced in November as part of a move away from automatic disqualification toward a penalty-based system.

He said scanners were brought in more than two hours into the parade without clear guidelines, and did not function properly.

“When they began to use the scanner, the scanner would not accept anybody crossing the line, so they tell me they have to take the scanner down to the group in the holding areas to scan,” he said. “I said that is not Junkanoo. I said I’m not going to stand by that, I’m not going to accept it.”

Mr Rolle said scanning costumes before they crossed the green line onto Bay Street could result in participants being logged as having entered the parade even if they never reached the route.

He also cited what he described as organisational lapses, including errors in the way group names were displayed on screens, saying he raised concerns with officials in the tally room that were dismissed.

Mr Rolle said he joined the parade management team out of love for Junkanoo culture and did his best under difficult circumstances, adding that problems emerged well before Boxing Day.