Above: Bridgetown (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Barbados’ Cabinet has approved the Cultural Industries Development, Culture Minister Stephen Lashley said Wednesday.

In a government release, Lashley said the bill was a “forward-looking piece of legislation that will position Barbados in the forefront of regional development of the sector.”

“On becoming law, it will give this island another economic platform on which it can depend, since it relies solely on the creativity of its human resource,” he said. “It will enable the sector to become a viable one, capable of making a significant contribution to the country’s GDP.”

The bill, which will have to be taken to Parliament when it reconvenes, is “comprehensive in its scope,” he said.

The bill provides for the establishment of a regulatory framework to “facilitate and encourage the sustainable growth and development of cultural industries, funding for cultural projects, as well as duty-free concessions and income tax benefits in respect of cultural projects,” according to the government.