UWP opposition senator, Ernie Lawrence Jno Finn, has called for the Dominican government to upgrade arts, music, and vocational services across the country. The senator outlined the proposal of the opposition party for the DLP administration to upgrade arts through music and education on the island.
Senator Finn said it is important for the ruling party to set up a consortium of stakeholders and relevant ministries to develop the entertainment and creative arts industry with a view to advancing music and arts in the country. She said the opposition is leading this charge because PM Roosevelt Skerrit is taking the matter with levity and this is impacting the economic development and discovery of creative talents in the country.
“What has he done for the music industry?” Finn asked. “Why does he speak to the issue so detached and as an observer? Mr. Skeritt needs to take full responsibility for the neglect and lack of adequate modification of the education system, the arts, and culture segments of our society.”
Senator Finn identified three solutions to the struggling problem of the entertainment and creative arts industry in Dominica. She recommends that the government make the newly proposed Goodwill Secondary School to become an institute for vocational studies, national arts, and cultural music. She also wants the Castle Bruce Secondary School and the Portsmouth Secondary School to be upgraded into multi-disciplinary centres for arts, music, and vocational services.
“These initiatives will take into consideration the country’s resource limit, both human and financial, and therefore put it to more efficient and productive use,” Jno Finn noted. “We are positive that our recommendations will be taken in the same spirit of unity and national development.”
Chief Cultural Officer Raymond Lawrence also echoed the same sentiments at the 2020 Golden Drum Awards, saying that the government needs to invest more in the culture and arts sector so that Dominica can rise to become the pride of the Caribbean community.
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