Points.

 I, as the Prime Minister, will begin by stating the motion, which was already done earlier. I will
state a quote then highlight some of the keywords and define the motion of today's debate.
After this, I will present the first point of the government in order to support our stand. The role
of my subordinate here is to rebut the points given by the opposition leader and go on to
present two additional new points that will further support the government's stand.

 Bob Marley once said ‘One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain’. And with that
ladies and gentlemen let me define music, positive and impact. According to the Oxford English
Dictionary music is described as a vocal or instrumental sound (or both) combined in such a way
as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. Positive is described by the
Cambridge Dictionary as full of hope and confidence, or giving cause for hope and confidence.
And finally the word impact is defined as a significant or major effect as stated by the Merriam
Webster Dictionary. We the government agree that Jamaican music has provided the youths an
avenue of escape from poverty and strife, consoles them, allows them to use it as a way of self
expression, contributes to the nation building of our country as it is a part of our cultural
heritage, provide opportunities for the marginalized and smaller entrepreneur and is seen as a
quick way to earn income.
 Allow me to make my first point, while I acknowledge the different types of music in Jamaica
such as gospel, rock steady, dancehall, reggae, calypso etc etc. The story of dancehall and reggae
is often one of tales of rags to riches for artistes of impoverished origins. It is no surprise that
people turn to music as a means out of poverty, as today it provides many income-earning
opportunities. Using music as a means out of the ghetto has been reiterative in the record of
reggae and dancehall. Early reggae celebrity were those from the inner cities, 'garrisons' and
rural areas, who migrated far and wide to chase and gain a career in music, convinced that it
would better them from the lives they were living.
 In the 1972 movie, The Harder They Come, Ivanhoe Martin played by Jimmy Cliff portrays the
struggle of a boy wishing to become a successful Reggae singer, he then finds himself tied to
corrupt record producers and drug pushers. The movie expresses the feel of music as 'quick
money' as the youngster hooks up with a producer and makes a hit song. This is evident now as
more and more artist are signing up to become part of something big in the music industry.
 According to a study done by Michael Witter entitled 'Music and the Jamaican Economy', the
music industry creates incentives for the underprivileged and small business owners. Witter
wrote that "like bananas and coffee in the 19th century and ganja in the 20th century, the music
industry was created by the marginalized social groups of the society and has been used as a
vehicle of their own development. The typical artiste and musician in Jamaica, including the
successful few, is from a poor economic background".
 Even today, some people believe that dancehall is a way out of poverty and strife. In an
interview once, David Brooks aka Movado proudly proclaims himself the 'Gully God' hailing from
Cassava Piece, St Andrew as he constantly sings about his ghetto hardships and how he is
generating sufficient income through music to flee the ghetto lifestyle. In his song, Dreaming,
Mavado talks about making money as an accomplishment of the hopes and dreams of those
 living on the streets. He sings about music providing his bread and butter as he sings "making
money and all is well/ and I'm a gangster for life because my song can tell ... but the music give
me money". All in all, the industry has paved a way for artist to become financially stable and
who wouldn’t want to make money? I rest my case.
 (Play Commercial)
 Madam Speaker my opposition has said that dancehall only has acts of violence, misogyny and
homophobia and does nothing for the country's sustainability, however I beg to differ because
dancehall music has great economic value, many tourists come to Jamaica to engage in the
dancehall culture such as at events like Reggae Sumfest to see artistes new and old perform and
in preparation for this they stay at our hotels and book reservations which whether we like to
admit it or not, tourist act as a generator for both employment and income. Tourism boosts our
country's economy by creating many new job openings for the local people. They spend a lot
money on a wide range of services such as hotels, amusement parks, transportation, food and
medical services. This is why tourism yields an additional income supporting the country's
economy. Another situation in which dancehall is beneficial to the economy is that is helps
boost employment in the entertainment industry as artist need video directors, make-up
artistes, camera men, managers, lawyers, editing staff, etc.
 Another point to make is that young people such as myself use reggae and some dancehall
songs as a means of consolation, it has evolved into something more meaningful than just
entertainment. However it has come under scrutiny for the government to use this popular
medium for political and social commentary. Reggae music posed a threat to Jamaica's
government but Are we a nation that tolerates the hypocrisy of a government system where our
politicians use dancehall and reggae as a way to boost their campaign during elections but
consider them to be a breakdown of the moral fabric of the country? Are we a nation that
accepts the double standards of the politicians?
 Before I take my seat, I would like to reaffirm our stand that is we the government, agree that
the Jamaican music does more good than it does more harm and we can go on and on about the
positive attributes but we suggest that you take a moment to see for yourselves that the good
outweighs the bad. With that I rest my case.