Contrary to claims made by United Bermuda Party MP Louise Jackson, Mr. Butler said the leaflets ? handed to passers-by near the offices of the Department of Youth & Sport ? were patron forms for the Havana Latin Millennium Jazz Band's upcoming concert.

In reality, the taxpayer will foot the bill ? something which would have been made clear to Mrs. Jackson had she bothered to call him with her concerns, he said.

"I think she's gone off a loose end," he said of the Opposition MP. "She has nothing of substance to offer with regards to making this a positive initiative. She desperately wants to see it fail and it's nothing but positive.

"The band is made up of a group of schoolchildren between the ages of 15 and 18 and described by local musician Wendell (Shine) Hayward as one of the best youth bands he's ever heard. While here, they are playing in three schools, at Harbour Nights, at a special event we're organising for the island's journalists and editors and also at a special public concert at the Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts. It was a letter seeking patrons for that concert."

In an interview with this week, Mrs. Jackson said she had received calls and been stopped on the street by people complaining that Mr. Butler was standing in front of a MarketPlace store, trying to raise sufficient funds to bring the Cuban band to the island.

With so many children interested in going abroad for arts or sports, "one would think the Minister would be trying to raise money for Bermuda students to go abroad," she said. "I have nothing against Cuba but it seems their own country should pay for them."

According to the Minister, the truth of the matter is that he was standing outside the offices of the Department of Youth & Sport ? located beside the MarketPlace ? waiting to let a group of people he'd scheduled a meeting with into the building.

"A friend asked if I could bring some of the forms down to them. I took 25. They wanted 20. I had five extra forms while standing outside the office. It was after five, the door was locked, and so I waited to let in an organisation that was coming to have a meeting with me.

"I waited half an hour. During that time I met a variety of people ? my friends, acquaintances, members of the general public ? and handed some of them a form. One such person was Louise Jackson's daughter, Deborah. I know Debbie Jackson. I know she likes jazz. I gave her a form."

The Havana Latin Millennium Jazz Band were initially scheduled to perform at the Bermuda Jazz Festival last October. After visa glitches prevented their appearance, Government decided to honour the commitment it had made and bring them to the island this May.

"They had been promised the opportunity to play in Bermuda but we couldn't get their visas organised in time for Jazz Fest," the Minister explained. "To fulfil that promise, on this one occasion, we're taking care of all their expenses. We have budgeted (for it) and so we will make that commitment. We're basically just cleaning up something that had already been established."

The trip was part of a unique Government-sponsored initiative aimed at promoting cultural growth locally, Mr. Butler said.

"We've really incorporated a lot of Bermuda in this. The way we budgeted, should it be a success, the proceeds (from the band's concert) will go towards our next initiative, towards the Bermuda Heritage Museum in St. George's, and towards the establishment of a foundation for future youth scholarships.

"Additional funds will be ploughed back into the local economy ? into local institutions, into future Cuban efforts. I know, for example, that many of our dance teachers have expressed great interest in going there.

"But what's really interesting is what is planned for when they go into the schools. We've had meetings with the Bermuda Musicians and Entertainers Union. We've asked them to find us three local musicians who can play for students in advance of the band's performance, and talk about themselves.

"We will have their bios and pictures sent to the schools in advance, we will pay them to play, and we will make a contribution to the Musicians Union. Normally, they go in and do charity work. This time, we're paying them. I don't think it's ever happened before. This way, students don't just hear a foreign group, they hear a Bermudian. But the onus is on the Musicians Union to find us those musicians."

The initiative was one of many developed through the island's cultural relations with Cuba, Mr. Butler said. And he added that many Bermudians ? especially those who had visited the Caribbean island ? were "pleased with all the knowledge we have gained as a result of our recent ties.

"(As a result), Stuart Hayward has been commissioned to write a detailed, comprehensive report on the strengths and weaknesses of the local music and entertainment industry with recommendations," he added.

"The memorandum provides us with the opportunity to do a lot of things with regard to culture. And the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Numerous Bermudians have been to Cuba, have admired what's taken place there, and would like to see our own industry revived.

"We can bring in speakers, lecturers, organisers. We can do a variety of things, but we're taking baby steps. At the end of this year, we will be presenting to Parliament a detailed report on what has been accomplished.

"There's so many things that have developed from what I learned there, and will come out of this memorandum at no additional cost to Bermuda ? simple things like the registration of poets, historians, video volunteers, authors. We don't know what we have here."