Machel supports steelpan on Coat of Arms

Senior Reporter

dareece.polo@guardian.co.tt

Amid heated national debate over proposed changes to the Coat of Arms, reigning Calypso Monarch and soca superstar Machel Montano has voiced strong support for including the steelpan on the national emblem.

On August 20, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced plans to replace the three ships symbolising Christopher Columbus’ expeditions and discovery of T&T with an image of the steelpan.

The proposal has sparked controversy in some quarters of society, with the Tassa Association of Trinidad and Tobago contending that the tassa drum, rather than the steelpan, better represents local heritage.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar did not outright reject the idea but cautioned that the proposal should be carefully considered. She also accused Dr Rowley of using painful historical events for general election campaigning.

For Montano, however, the inclusion of the steelpan is an obvious choice.

“The steelpan is something that, if we understand it well… a lot of us may find different opinions about it and who it represents, but it represents Trinidad and Tobago.

“And if you really look at the history, I didn’t know so much before I went back to UTT and now that I know, I could proudly say it is something that is of all the people of Trinidad and Tobago and I see nothing wrong with that,” Montano said after the funeral of musician Roy Cape at the National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port-of-Spain.

Local designer and jeweller Gillian Bishop has been chosen to redesign the Coat of Arms but the cost of the redesign has not yet been disclosed.

However, Rowley dismissed concerns that the redesign of the emblem would be excessively costly. He explained that the changes would not be implemented all at once at institutions and on paraphernalia that now carry the national emblem. Instead, he noted that as stationery is restocked, the new Coat of Arms could be introduced gradually during this process.

The Government requires a simple majority in Parliament to pass the amendments needed to change the Coat of Arms.

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