Jamaican Gov’t Hints At Entertainment Sector Restart As It Reviews Proposals

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that over the course of the next week, his administration would be reviewing several proposals aimed at restoring some functionality to the entertainment sector which remains closed.

Holness made the disclosure while speaking in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (January 26), where he announced that the prohibition on funerals and sporting events had been lifted among other changes to the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA).

According to the Prime Minister, while no meeting has been scheduled with stakeholders in the sector just yet, following the review of the proposals an update would be provided to parliament on what might be possible.

“And I’m not certain that they are going to be meeting with the industry just yet. But they are going to meet, review the proposals that have been given, because several proposals have been sent into the government about how the industry can return to some kind of functionality. So we’re going to review those. And at the end of that review, we will come back to parliament and report as to what might be possible,” Holness said.

Holness shared that like other Jamaicans, over the weekend, he read what he described as a  ‘compelling’ letter written by entertainment sector heavyweight, Dream Entertainment Managing Director Scott Dunn.

In the open letter, Dunn charged the government to address the concerns of the entertainment industry which has effectively been closed for close to a year.

The Prime Minister explained that it was not the case that his administration was not sympathetic to the plight of those in the sector, but noted the nature of the industry made it important to proceed with extreme caution.

In fact, Holness used the occasion to remind industry stakeholders that there was a time during the pandemic, where the industry was allowed to reopen but noted that due to a spike in infections traced to entertainment events, the ban was re-implemented.

“You will recall that earlier in the pandemic, when we thought we were coming out of the rut of the pandemic, we allowed certain events with certain protocols in place. But then we began to see some spikes. And spikes that we could trace back to events, so we had to pull back,” said Holness.

“I don’t want the entertainment sector to feel that there is no sympathy for them or that we are blaming them that- that is not the case. The nature of the industry is such that we just have to be very careful with it,” added Holness.

Since the closure, dancehall acts, who rely on the sector for an income, have expressed their frustrations, as well as, have lobbied the government to reopen the industry.

While other artiste have refocused their attention on diaspora markets, particularly in the US, where they have continued to perform at live shows.