CONFUSING! Jamaica 50 Secretariat says there's no official Jamaica 50 song

Perhaps in reaction to the negative reception  Jamaica 50 Secretariat says it has not designated an official or national Jamaica 50 song.

The statement adds that  “the Secretariat does not intend to, nor did it choose, select or designate an official or national Jamaica 50 song…..Many of these songs have already been in the public domain and others have been endorsed by the Secretariat and were released for airplay and for the enjoyment of the public.”

However, the media was invited to the launch of the official Jamaica 50 song last Friday. The song is called On A Mission and was produced by Shaggy. A public outcry regarding the fact that there is no reggae in the song, and questions about the first Jamaica 50 official song has led to the back-pedaling by the Ministry of Culture.

The Secretariat’s position was  reportedly communicated to  Opposition Spokesperson on Culture  Olivia Babsy Grange in a recent meeting involving her and the Culture Minister Lisa Hanna.

At that time Ms. Grange was  reportedly advised that several songs including “Fly the Flag” produced by Michael Bennett, would be designated as “proudly celebrating Jamaica 50″ as a part of the celebrations to embrace an all inclusive approach to Jamaica’s rich musical heritage. 

‘The Mission’ theme song was released last Friday. 

The Secretariat states its aware that the “synchronized national airplay” could have created some misunderstanding in the minds of members of the public.

It notes that any such misunderstanding is regretted.

The Jamaica 50 Secretariat and the Ministry of Youth and Culture are also mindful that the annual Jamaica Festival Song Competition, the traditional and time-honoured vehicle for choosing a song to celebrate the country’s Independence each year, has not yet been completed.

They expect that the Festival Competition will itself produce an array of celebratory songs to augment authentic musical tributes to Jamaica 50.

They  are  inviting all Jamaicans to play and enjoy the appropriate song or songs of their choice.