Grammy-winning recording artiste Shaggy has again sought to clear the air regarding the J$100 million raised by the Shaggy Make A Difference Foundation from the 2018 Shaggy & Friends concert, noting that the plan to expand the Bustamante Children’s Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has been “moving ahead”.

The entertainer’s reassurance follows media reports of Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton expressing disappointment that the benefits of the charity concert have yet to flow to the children nearly five years after the show.

Speaking with OBSERVER ONLINE after hosting a tour of the facility on Monday, Shaggy indicated that careful planning to “get the best” team to execute the project has contributed to the length of time it has taken to get the project off the ground.

“We have to get a budget together, drawings done, contractors et all… we have to get all of them in place first and get the best…. That takes time with us going through and getting the right people involved,” Shaggy, whose given name is Orville Burrell, said.

He also outlined a confluence of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and change of plans, which have caused delays.

“We have been sitting in two years of a pandemic,” he emphasised.

“First of all, we had a plan first to build a brand new facility, we couldn’t build the brand new facility because we didn’t have enough land… So we said ‘let’s go ahead and build a ward’, then we are told that under the Charities Act we cannot do that because it was earmarked for that, it was raised for that,” he continued. “Then (head of the hospital’s ICU) Dr (Brian) James came up with an idea to refurbish the existing one and expand it… expand the existing facility and make it into a seven-bed facility from five… which is what we have been doing for the last couple of months until now.”

Shaggy again maintained that it was never the foundation’s practice to hand over money to the hospital

“If you look at the model of Shaggy & Friends, we do not hand over money, we always buy equipment,” he said. “We owe that to our donors… that is what they invested in when they donated so we cannot stray from that.”

The entertainer expressed disappointment in what he said has been an “attack” on his character and said, while he would not rule out a return of the Shaggy and Friends concert, it would not be just his decision.

“In my heart of hearts I would love to because you have to put the children first and we saw the good that it did,” Shaggy said.

“However, when you start to get attacked on your character, remember it says ‘Shaggy and Friends’. There are also a lot of people who make up the ‘Friends’ that are behind the scenes… these are people that gave their time, that had attached their businesses to this brand, it was also an attack on their character at the same time because they were involved with us,” he continued.

“It is not a conversation for myself, it is a conversation that involves these people… the preliminary conversation I have had with them, they are a little gutted and disgusted by the situation. Am I telling you that down the line time won’t change things, probably, but we will cross that bridge when we are there.”