The Trinidad and Tobago government will pay calypsonian icon the Mighty Sparrow (Slinger Francisco) TT$2 million to acquire his memorabilia.
This was announced by Minister of Culture Dr. Lincoln Douglas who said the money will go to the family of the calypsonian.
He said the Ministry of Culture will acquire the memorabilia for 10 years with the option to renew the deal.
Douglas said he expected Sparrow’s works to be put on display by Feb. 15, next year and the government will license all the memorabilia which includes six crowns, 52 certificates, 42 CDS, eight citations, four DVDs, 14 medals, 136 plaques, 76 pictures, 22 proclamations, eight tokens, 94 trophies, and 78 videos.
He revealed the government was preparing a festival village to display the items in Port of Spain.
In September 2013, the calypsonian icon nearly lost his life after he suffered a stroke, then fell into a diabetic coma. He spent three months in a hospital in New York, USA.
He later returned home and announced that he would make guest appearances at shows to help get income to pay for his medical expenses.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar subsequently said the government would cover the costs of his medical bills.
