I note with interest Howard Hamilton's letter urging Prime Minister Bruce Golding not to re-enter a borrowing arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but to seek out various avenues inside Jamaica to stop any financial haemorrhage the island might face at present.

If we go back, say, about 20 years, the only industry that never faces a recession is the entertainment industry. Jamaica could with ease be Hollywood South, and the recording centre of the Caribbean, which would bring in millions of dollars. The only thing is, the Government of the day would have to fund this project with money from the people of Jamaica for it to become a reality. We have a beat in Jamaica called reggae/dancehall, but we don't have a product. People in countries such as England, France, Japan, Australia, Germany, Holland, and others don't have a beat as we do, but they have used our invention and made billions worldwide each year.

A product for the consumer

That's because they look at reggae and dancehall music as a product for the consumer to spend their money on, and not just as a 'boom-boom' thing, as what is happening now in Jamaica.

The Government can, or should, build a recording studio as the one at Abbey Road in England with the latest high-tech facilities and use up all the orchestras, and talented musicians to aid record producers to produce a finished product, as the rest of the world, and make some of the billions return to Jamaica. He can then ask for his percentage. I know this can happen.

In a book I've written on dancehall, I noted that songs such as A Love I Can Feel; 1000 Volts Of Holt and Lost Love, all by John Holt, were the top for this in that they were all produced with the backing of a full orchestra.

There are hundreds of Chris Blackwells walking up and down in Jamaica calling out for financial help to produce a movie. If the Government of the day should tap these ideas, we won't need the IMF. The taxes from them would carry us over the hill.

I am, etc.,

D. HAYLES

nhayles@rogers.com

Brampton

Ontario, Canada