THE NATIONAL CULTURAL FOUNDATION (NCF) is taking steps to stop any possible leaks this year.An alleged leak of a list of the 18 semi-finalists for last year’s Pic-O-De-Crop competition marred festivities, and forced the NCF to investigate whether the judging process had been compromised.The list of names in the exact order was reportedly being circulated long before the official announcement by the NCF. And calypsonians were reporting being congratulated up to three days prior, with three tents yet to be judged.Chief executive officer Dr Donna Hunte-Cox said yesterday the NCF had devised ways to get people to understand the need for confidentiality, and that leaks could have negative effects.“We are putting measures in place to prevent any further leakage, so to speak,” she said, adding there was a confidential clause in all contracts signed by NCF staff.Hunte-Cox said that even with the preventative measures, they hoped people employed by the NCF “will recognise that the organisation is bigger than the individual and work collectively to make sure that the organisation is protected”.She explained that the scores from preliminary judging were handed over to the tabulator at the end of the night, who then entered the data into a computer.“After the tabulator, the producer is only person who should have access to the scores, and we’re hoping to put those things into a more secure environment this year,” Hunte-Cox stated.Meanwhile, the process leading up to the announcement of results for competitions is expected to be much more efficient this year.Hunte-Cox said that with the establishment festival and events department, which is responsible for the planning and execution of Crop-Over, activities should be running a lot smoother this year.“We have teams of judges that will work more harmoniously this year, in terms of . . . [making] sure that we have an efficient system . . . . We are trying to work with the judges early and to have workshops and dialogue so that we can tweak as we go forward and hopefully we will have the results back [at a] much quicker pace than in previous years,” she said.Hunte-Cox was speaking after a Press conference to announce plans for the BNB Crop-Over Opening Gala on July 3, which will officially kick off this year’s festival. (YB)
