Entertainment industry weighs in on gov’t walkout at Gordon House

Following Tuesday’s government walkout of Gordon House led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, during Opposition Leader Mark Golding’s contribution to the Budget Debate, members of the entertainment industry have weighed in on the matter.

In a nutshell, Golding, in his address, questioned the appointment of Juliet Holness, member of parliament for St Andrew East Rural, and wife of the prime minister as Speaker of the House. The prime minister and his team took umbrage and walked out of Parliament, forcing the deputy speaker to adjourn the sitting, after which Golding continued his message on the outside.

“The head of Parliament (Juliet Holness) is now the spouse of the head of Government. This really does not sit well with the tradition that the Speaker must act independently of the government of the day. The Speaker is intended to be independent and must act independent of the government of the day,” was the feathers-ruffling comment made by Golding.

Award-winning publicist and record producer, Ralston Barrett, said that he was “very surprised” when he watched the news and saw what happened in the Parliament, and added a disclaimer to the effect that he is no political expert, but rather a “music man who thinks that we deserve better from those that we have elected to lead our nation”.

“The prime minister is usually very calm and in control. I think he got upset because he felt that his wife was being attacked. However, I think by walking out he and the other members of his party have set a very poor example for the citizens of Jamaica to follow. By this action, what are you really telling the average man on the street? What are you telling our children?” Barrett quizzed.

He added, “Are you telling them that if you are being criticised you must get angry and behave in a manner that doesn’t fit the position or post you hold? I mean, he is the head of the country, he’s our elected leader and he’s human after all, but this doesn’t look good. The optics just isn’t right. With that said, I think Mr Holness was probably surprised by Mr Golding’s comment and acted out of character.”

In what could be the title of a song, Claude Mills, producer, journalist and publicist, labelled the walkout “clear poli-tricks, plain and simple”.

“It is clear that the entire episode showed that our political directorate may not be focused on the business of the people. Golding should have been allowed to finish his presentation, especially since he was making some salient points that affect the future of our local entertainment industry. This kind of juvenile behaviour by the present administration just drives home the point that the country has entered a prolonged electioneering process ... it is silly season,” Mills declared.

For him, Golding “raised legitimate concerns” about MP Juliet Holness’ dual role as House Speaker and spouse of the prime minister, and he noted that “notwithstanding Holness’ personal feelings about the comments, Golding should have been allowed to finish his presentation ... that was a poor show of personal one-upmanship on Holness’ part”.

Speaking directly to the concerns of the entertainment industry, Mills said, “There has been for a long time a petition for Bob Marley to become a national hero of Jamaica. The government has even put together a committee to look at it so I am very interested to hear what the prime minister has to say in his budget presentation. And I hope that there will be no tit-for-tat or any more political shenanigans. I would love for the politicians to stop pussyfooting around this Bob Marley issue and just make a clear and firm decision. I would like them to also address certain aspects of the Night Noise Act and give us more entertainment zones across the island. They need to stop giving token support to the entertainment industry and initiate real action that can solve our real pressing issues and concerns.”

Music marketer and publicist, Sean ‘Contractor’ Edwards, stated that Jamaica has a communication problem in how conflicts, disagreements and differences of opinion are resolved and this often leads to violent behaviour which can be seen in homes, schools, workplaces and in the streets.

“Members of Parliament and Government ministers are seen as role models in our society, and in an important budget speech it’s expected that comments will be made to ruffle feathers. However, these comments must be countered in an intelligent manner. To walk out of the budget presentation is not setting a good example to young people on how to resolve differences of opinion intelligently,” Edwards opined.

He continued, “Mark Golding’s continuation of his speech on Duke Street reminds me of Valiant at Sting in St Ann where he was not able to perform on stage but did an a cappella performance in the parking lot on top of his car and went viral for doing so.”

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com