Meadows recants

GOVERNMENT SENATOR Dennis Meadows has formally withdrawn a controversial motion calling on the Media Association Jamaica (MAJ) to accept a more flexible use of government time on radio and television.

Meadows, who had tabled the motion before the Senate on Friday, June 11, yesterday advised Senate colleagues he wished to have the motion withdrawn as the issue was close to being resolved elsewhere.

He said with this in mind, a debate on the motion at this time would be useless.

Meadows' motion had sparked the ire of the MAJ, which had already been in discussions with the Golding administration over proposed changes in the airing of government broadcasts on television and radio.

Following further discussions between the MAJ and government officials, Meadows agreed not to proceed with the motion after being updated on the status of negotiations.

Despite Meadows' intention to withdraw the motion being conveyed in a release from the Office of the Prime Minister on June 14, the matter remained unresolved before the Senate up to last week.

At that time, Leader of Government Business, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, had indicated that no arrangements had been made for the motion to be withdrawn, saying that it was likely the motion would fall off the order paper pending no action by government senators.

- P.H.