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Minister of Finance Dr. Nigel Clarke has made an ambitious promise to Jamaican star Protoje that Reggae music will soon be allowed in the country’s capital all day, every day.
Clarke was speaking during yesterday’s Budget Debate, when he seized the opportunity to respond to the Hills artist who had complained about the abrupt ending to the second annual Lost in Time Festival held at Hope Gardens in St. Andrew on February 25.
“I want to humbly tell Protoje that this government of Prime Minister Holness, listens and we hear you. Tell Protoje that with this government, Reggae music will play in Kingston, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Clarke announced on Tuesday.
During last month’s staging of the Lost in Time Festival, a visibly irate Proroje urged the thousands of Reggae lovers in attendance to ensure that they “tell their government” that Reggae music must be played in Kingston freely, before he flung his microphone down and exited the stage.
His annoyance peaked when members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force [JCF] emerged on stage as early as five minutes before the permitted 12:00 midnight lock-off, calling for the entertainers to wrap it up.
Protoje (Photo by Yannick Reid)In the meantime, Clarke added that his colleague—Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange—asked him to announce that J$120 million has been allocated in the budget for the rehabilitation of the JamWorld Entertainment Centre in Portmore, St. Catherine and Fort Rocky in Port Royal.
“Minister Grange is a strong advocate and wants musicians to have spaces where they can earn their livelihood in peace. And where Jamaicans have the opportunity to enjoy reggae music in peace.”
Governor General Sir Patrick Allen made the announcement about the developments in store for JamWorld back in February during his Throne Speech.
“Our excellence in entertainment outweighs our size. The JamWorld Entertainment Complex is being renovated for the facility to be the first 24-hour Entertainment Zone, to address the need for designated entertainment areas,” the GG had said in the speech titled “Towards a Peaceful, Productive and Prosperous Jamaica”.
Back in November 2022, Grange had also revealed that the entire 70-acres of land which make up JamWorld, was finally the property of her Ministry, and, as such, would become the best entertainment venue in the Western Hemisphere under her regime.
As it relates to Fort Rocky, last year Grange noted that her team was in the finalizing stages of the launching the location as an entertainment zone.
“We’re almost there in having that venue available. Interestingly enough, we had to do one last thing. We had to do an impact assessment survey to see how the sound and the lights would affect the endemic species. NEPA [National Environment and Planning Agency] asked us to do that because the turtles come out and nest there, and we have to do a study. The study is going on right now; it’s an eight-week study to see how the sound and the light will affect the turtles when they come out to nest and the other endemic species,” Grange announced at the media launch of the One Blood Family Fest at the Jamaica Pegasus in May 2023.
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