The Jamaica 50 Secretariat is moving to have the public vote on the songs to be used for the celebration of the country’s 50th anniversary of Independence, in light of the controversy surrounding the issue.

There has been heated debate about whether Orville ‘Shaggy’ Burrell’s ‘On a Mission’ or the Micheal ‘Mickey’ Bennet-produced ‘Fly the Flag’ should be the official song of the celebrations.

The controversy heightened after the song produced by Burrell was launched last Friday as the official marketing campaign song for Jamaica 50, despite Bennett’s song having been declared the official song by the previous administration.

Today, the Jamaica 50 Secretariat again sought to clarify the matter saying the promotional agency for the Shaggy song and a corporate sponsor had incorrectly branded the CD and associated printed materials as the official Jamaica 50 song.

It said it has been in communication with the entity and a meeting is being arranged with a view to correcting this situation and streamlining the communication, vetting and approval process going forward.

Meanwhile, pointing out that several songs have been submitted to the Secretariat, it said the public will be engaged in selecting which songs they think are suitable to be recognised as part of the Jamaica 50 celebrations.

The Jamaica 50 Secretariat said its social media team is now working on the design for the initiative and discussions have started with a telecommunications provider, on a texting platform to enable such public participation.

It said going forward, the Secretariat and the Ministry of Culture will be focusing on informing the public about the celebratory and legacy elements of Jamaica 50 and encouraging all Jamaicans to get involved.

editorial@gleanerjm.com