The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Opposition’s finance spokesman yesterday suggested that the government should make the inclusion of a local entertainment option a requirement of any new Heads of Agreement with resort developers, arguing that this could help promote local entertainers and provide them with sustainable employment in the sector.

“If the government want to invest in entertainment they should look to building relationships and requiring local entertainment option in any new Heads of Agreement,” said East Grand Bahama MP K Peter Turnquest. “They should invest in and revitalise the local live music and supper club show productions that will provide year round options for these artists.”

The Free National Movement (FNM) Deputy Leader’s comments came following the release of the Department of Statistics Labour Force and Household Income Survey last week which noted that the inaugural Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival celebrations “contributed” to a 3.7 per cent decrease in the country’s unemployment rate. The survey provided information on the labour force as it existed during the period April 27 to May 3, 2015. It said that the unemployment rate in the Bahamas dropped from the 15.7 recorded in the November 2014 survey to 12 per cent.

“We cannot depend on a quick fix series of programmes to fix this unemployment problem in a sustainable way. We need real jobs that contribute to the overall growth of the nation and to the stability of Bahamian families,” said Mr Turnquest.

“I think that if the government is serious about Bahamian entertainment, whether through some sort of legal requirement or whether it uses its moral persuasion to get the investors to commit to, there ought to be a predominance of Bahamian entertainment in all of these properties.

“One of the things that we had struggled with is creating an identity for ourselves, having regard to location culture, traditions and the like. Indigenous entertainment can play a very vital role in causing that uniqueness to be exploited and promoted. I think that it would certainly be the wise thing to do even as these new developments come on stream, that that is included in the initial discussions to ensure that our entertainers are, in fact, provided with opportunity for sustainable long term jobs and promotion of their craft,” said Mr Turnquest.