Cabinet to Receive Recommedations on Action to be Taken to Clean Up Music Industry

Prime Minister Bruce Golding, has called for a set of recommendations on the action and the direction to be taken to clean up the music that is broadcast or projected in public spaces and through the electronic media.
Minister of Culture, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange and Education Minister, Andrew Holness, have been asked to collaborate and prepare for Cabinet review, the recommendations coming out of a meeting today at Jamaica House with stakeholders in the music industry. Minister Grange said that the Minister of Transport, Mike Henry will also join the collaboration because of the implications for public transportation.
Minister Grange said the Ministry of Culture will have further industry consultation to guide legislative action.
“We must come up with the solutions so that we can take this to Cabinet and out of that we can give the go ahead for the legislators to do the necessary amendments to the existing legislations. Not only do we have to look at legislation, but we have to look for our own personal commitment and sense of responsibility in cleaning up the content in public spaces and ensuring that we create the right environment for our children”, Minister Grange said.
Speaking with a wide cross section of members of the music and entertainment industry, Prime Minister Golding said there was no shortage of laws governing the broadcast and publication regulations for the music industry.
“Part of our problem is that there is no shortage of laws. Some of them may need to be updated. Part of our problem is the issue of enforcement. I am prepared to go all the way in enforcing these laws. If it’s the mini-bus operator or the radio stations who must lose their licenses, I am prepared to go all the way to enforce the laws”, Mr. Golding told the music industry stakeholders.
In his presentation, Education Minister Andrew Holness, said that for too long we have allowed our culture to just evolve, without any formal intervention to assist the process that would help to make us a better people. He said that the first action must be to protect our children as they do not have a frame of reference to analyse information that relates to obscenity and profanity.