What about entertainment? - Industry insider feels sector under-represented in COVID recovery task force

Last month, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the establishment of an Economic Recovery Task Force, chaired by Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke.

The multisectoral task force, which is mandated to oversee Jamaica's economic recovery from COVID-19, includes several committees. But according to one industry insider, there is a lack of representation for the entertainment sector.

"A gross oversight," is how Kamal Bankay, chairman of sports and entertainment in the Ministry of Tourism, and also a director of the entertainment advisory board, in the Entertainment Ministry, described it.

"I don't see any representation there at all either in the names of the actual task force subgroups or in the personnel in those subgroups. So suppose you were going to assume that entertainment was going to be subsumed into the tourism and aviation one, that could be an assumption you make if someone from the entertainment industry were on that task force, but I don't see any of my colleagues from entertainment there," he added.

Bankay, who is also a co-chair of Reggae Month's steering committee and the Jamaica Carnival Stakeholders Committee, argues that without a dominant voice on the task force, who would then represent the interest of the entertainment sector?

"If the people that are sitting on that task force are practitioners in the industry or representatives of the industry, then you could say well, obviously, people that were coming and being a part of this could speak for and give reference to the situation, but I don't see it at all. So the concerns are obvious. We have no voice, and if we have no voice, the nuances of entertainment, which are typically not as easy to understand as other sectors that are more formally recognised, especially during this extreme circumstance of COVID, are not even going to be considered," Bankay argued.

The entertainment industry, which is among one of the hardest-hit sectors, was among the first to experience a total shutdown due to the pandemic.

GOVERNMENT RESTRICTION

As early as March 18, in an effort to reduce and eliminate the spread of the coronavirus, the Government restricted the opening of all bars, nightclubs, and other areas of entertainment.

However, in looking towards any type of recovery plan, there will need to be assessments of the fallout from COVID-19 and the overall impact on the sector.

However, this may not be easily measured as the entertainment industry falls under the informal economy, and so empirical data are not easily accessible.

It is for reasons like these that Bankay says it is important to have the right kind of representation for the sector.

He questions, "Wouldn't it be especially important at that time to bring people in from the entertainment industry if it is that you don't have the data and you can't speak to it?"

Bankay says industries like tourism that fall under the formal sector will have data readily available and "the data can be used to drive decisions".

But for sectors that don't have data but are equally as important to the local economy, Bankay says there will have to be even more robust consultations and inclusions.

However, when contacted, a member of the tourism and aviation subcommittee of the Economic Recovery Task Force, gave the assurance that the interests of the entertainment sector would be represented.

John Byles, CEO, Chukka Caribbean Adventures, says that "is exactly the plan".

"Adam Stewart and myself are on it, and the plan is the representation would be for the restaurants, bars, and entertainment as they are all tied intricately to the destination," he said.

Byles also said that the subcommittee would also take into consideration other non-entertainment areas like transport and shopping.

The tourism and aviation subcommittee meetings have been taking place, and although not giving any updates on the plans as yet, Byles says, "the process is a very inclusive one", involving the "public and private sector, with the clear goal of working towards the reopening within what will be the requirements of health".

The other members of the subcommittee are Edmund Bartlett (chair), Gordon Shirley, and Omar Robinson.