TABLE OF CONTENTS Topic - PDF document

P a g e | 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Topic Page SALUTATIONS 2 THE CONCEPT OF PROGRESS 4 3-2-1 5 ENTERTAINMENT AS A TOOL FOR PROGRESS 8 ENTERTAINMENT DEFINED 8 THE NATURAL SYNERGY BETWEEN TOURISM AND ENTERTAINMENT 9 ENTERTAINMENT POSSIBILITIES 10 ENTERTAINMENT ADVISORY BOARD 11 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION 12 MARKETING 12 IMPROVING COMPETITIVENESS 15 REGULATION 17 INDUSTRY ENCOURAGEMENT 17 STRENGTHENING LINK BETWEEN ENTERTAINMENT AND TOURISM 18 CONCLUSION 19 APPENDICES 20

P a g e | 2 THEME: ENTERTAINMENT AS A TOOL FOR PROGRESS Enroute to Progress Salutations Mr. Speaker, it is indeed an honour as I rise to make my contribution to the Sectoral Debate, which will be my first presentation in this Honourable House. Firstly, let me express my gratitude to the Most Honourable Prime Minister for displaying sufficient confidence in me by assigning me this important portfolio as State Minister of Tourism and Entertainment. I also wish to acknowledge my family: my hero of a mother Mrs. Lena Braham-Crawford, my sisters, my uncle Ransford Braham and the other members of my family who have been very supportive of my move to enter representational politics and serve my country in this capacity. Their support is as certain as night follows day and for that I am grateful. Further, Mr. Speaker, I wish to express my appreciation to my lead Minister, Dr. Wykeham McNeill, who has taken the time to tutor me and to facilitate my, at times, exuberance, with a calm, reasoned fostering that has left me comfortable to think and act freely. I am also grateful to our Permanent Secretary Mrs. Jennifer Griffith, and Director General Ms. Carrole Guntley, for their support over the last few months. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Chairman of the newly appointed Entertainment Advisory Board, Kingsley Cooper, CEO of Pulse Investments and the ever willing board members many of whom are present today.

P a g e | 3 I also want to thank the many partners within the entertainment industry for their remarkable support over the last few months as we conducted broad-scale consultation on the way forward. Mr. Speaker, following the General Election on the 29 th of December I received a gift that has facilitated rubbing shoulders with princes, interacting with queens and more importantly, placed me in a position to influence the direction of a nation. At this time Mr. Speaker it is fittingly appropriate that I express special thanks to my constituents in East Rural St. Andrew, including my Councillors and management team. Mr. Speaker I have been given this opportunity through the will of God and the help of man and I will serve both to the best of my ability. I would also like to acknowledge two former Parliamentarians and Government Ministers who currently reside in my constituency, Burchell Whiteman and Dean Peart, for their support thus far. In addition Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize two of my predecessors who represented the constituency in the past and laid the political foundation for the success I ’ ve inherited; Mr. Emerson "Ginnard" Barrett and Councillor for the Harbour View Division former MP, Mr. Oliver Clue, for their guidance and support. Finally for my salutations Mr. Speaker, I recognize members of my campaign team present, as well as the Tuesday night support team that has contributed freely of their time and knowledge to the improvement of the lives of the people of East Rural St. Andrew.

P a g e | 4 The Concept of Progress Mr. Speaker, I would like to make my presentation within the context of progress. Mr. Speaker, progress has been defined as “ growth or development; continuous improvement; advancement in general ” . In my mind Mr. Speaker, progress is as natural as the sun lit morning and the moon lit night. Indeed Mr. Speaker there is ample evidence of the notion of continual progress with no discernible limit from an inferior to a superior condition. The evidence of the progress to which I speak can be seen in technology, science, and the arts, to name a few. However, Mr. Speaker while this progress is natural and by extension Godly it is by no means automatic as it requires consistent effort and the application of creativity and technology. This is simply because there exists “ unnatural ” hindrances to progress. As it relates to progress in the general human living standard, education, health, and access to infrastructure serve as facilitators of progress and by extension the lack thereof acts as a hindrance to progress. Unfortunately Mr. Speaker, with limited resources coupled with an urban bias, rural constituencies are faced with countless limitations to progress, a reality Mr. Speaker, to which East Rural St. Andrew is no exception. Mr. Speaker, data shows that of the five divisions, four are ranked in the lowest income quintile by STATIN. Mr. Speaker high levels of unemployment and crime are critical features of the constituency, strategies must therefore be developed to facilitate job creation and to improve the quality of life of constituents.

P a g e | 5 Mr. Speaker, over 50% of the constituency does not have a public water source piped into their household. Mr. Speaker, 45% of the constituency has no access to unshared toilet facilities. Even to this day 30% of our households use a pit as toilet facilities. Mr. Speaker, East Rural St. Andrew is ranked by STATIN as the 2 nd most impoverished constituency and also 2 nd from last in literacy and numeracy. 3-2-1 Mr. Speaker the constituency is faced with many challenges all of which I must try to address. However, Mr. Speaker faced with lack of resources and understanding my own inability to achieve all that is necessary to facilitate progress, I have taken the decision to focus on education as an enabler of the progress to which I speak. Mr. Speaker, the notion “ Every child CAN learn, every child MUST ” innately refers to a partnership between God and man for which we must play our part. It is by the will of God that every child can learn. It is then by the efforts of man that they must. Mr. Speaker, efforts within the constituency entitled the 3-2-1 program will seek to achieve the measurable results of having three (3) CXC subjects per household in five (5) years, two (2) CAPE subjects per household ten (10) years thereafter and finally one (1) degree per household five (5) years thereafter. So in twenty years Mr. Speaker each household will have at least one person to serve as the catalyst of change, the engine of improvement and the source of inspiration for his/her family. The name 3-2-1 therefore Mr. Speaker emerged out of the

P a g e | 6 measurable outcome of CXCs, CAPE and degrees desired per household respectively. To achieve the stated objectives Mr. Speaker, the program will be very comprehensive in its focus, simultaneously concentrating on literacy, GSAT performance, CXC achievements, adult education and skills attainment and certification. Mr. Speaker, to address the issue of literacy we will embark on the HOPE Readers Club for third graders in preparation for the grade four test. Mr. Speaker, we will also embark on a Volunteer program where persons who are capable of reading take non- readers into their homes for extra assistance. Mr. Speaker, I have developed a close working relationship with the principals of the 21 schools in the constituency through the Principals Forum that meets once per month. Mr. Speaker, we intend to extend this to our basic schools for the upcoming school year. Mr. Speaker the 3-2-1 program also includes GSAT summer and study camps as well as GSAT Saturday classes for all five graders going into the sixth grade. It is our desire Mr. Speaker to have a homework environment facilitated at each of our 22 schools. Mr. Speaker, for CXC we will focus on five (5) subjects namely Mathematics, English, Principles of Business, Office Procedures and Social Studies.