Shaggy Clarifies J$100 million Bustamante Children’s Hospital Donation Saga – Watch Video

With mounting questions as to why the J$100 million raised by the Shaggy & Friends concert to expand the Bustamante Children’s Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has not yet been handed over, dancehall/reggae artiste Shaggy has come forward to set the record straight.

Shaggy, founder of the Shaggy Make A Difference Foundation, sat down with Observer Online to discuss the $100 million ICU donation, which was raised in 2018. He clarified that his organisation does not “hand over money” but purchases the necessary equipment, does refurbishments, or does whatever else the funds were collected to do.

Speaking on the lengthy time it has taken to expand the ICU unit, the artiste stated that, in addition to the two years of the pandemic, their plans to expand the unit fell through due to a lack of land.

After it was suggested that the funds be used to build a ward instead, Shaggy was made aware that under the Charities Act, charitable organisations are barred from diverting donations made for specific causes to other purposes.

“It was earmarked for that. It was raised for that […] I’m not gonna go break the law […] so, I have to follow what the charities act said.” Shaggy stated. The entertainer added that they are currently working on refurbishing the existing facility and expanding it from a five-bed unit to a seven-bed unit.

Divulging further, the Strength Of A Woman singer expressed that he would love to proceed with another staging of the Shaggy and Friends concert, but it was not solely his decision. He also shared that the current Bustamante saga had led to negative attacks not only on his character but also on the characters of people working behind the scenes of the concert.

Watch the video below.