Kingston mayor urges entertainment industry players to maintain COVID protocols
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Mayor of Kingston, Senator Delroy Williams is urging people within the municipality to abide by the established COVID-19 protocols in the planning and execution of entertainment events.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness last week outlined measures for the reopening of the entertainment sector in July, announcing that parties, festivals and other events can be held, legally during the summer period.
Read: Holness outlines measures for reopening entertainment sector
The mayor cautioned promoters that the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) will not allow a few unlawful and selfish people to ruin the gains and waste the sacrifices of the many who are compliant.
In a statement Tuesday, he said that the KSAMC will commence the renewal and issuance of Annual and Special Amusement licenses in keeping with the directive of the government and will be checking events and places of amusement licenses to ensure they are compliant and operating within the law.
“We welcome the reopening of the sector and look forward to the orderly recovery of the creative economy. We, however, cannot drop the ball and will be playing a critical role in the supervision and enforcement of the law and urge all promoters to comply with the regulations and report any and all unauthorised events,” Williams said
He also lauded the collective work of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport in getting the country to this point.
The mayor said much more would be done in the coming weeks to ensure a smooth and seamless process for the application and approval of licenses that should change the face of the entertainment industry moving ahead.
He also urged promoters to make use of the waivers and incentives being offered during the recovery period to secure a quick recovery to the creative economy and the thousands of persons it employs.