The PPP/C administration has failed to keep its promises to the nation’s youth, according to PNCR-1G parliamentarian Africo Selman in her contribution to the debate on the 2011 National Budget.
Selman, the party’s Shadow Minister on Culture, Youth and Sport, on Thursday criticised the government for failing to implement a promised national youth policy 18 years after taking office which she noted was still being formulated according to an admission from PPP/C MP Steve Ninvalle in his presentation earlier that day.
“And earlier today the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport indicated that the youth policy would be formulated later this year; we await to see but it is obvious that government is not serious about the implementation of such a policy since in 2011 we are still hearing of its formulation as opposed to its implementation,” she said
Selman also queried how long it would take to design such a policy, whether youths had been consulted on the draft policy and in the absence of a draft she asked how they could speak of building a better tomorrow today if the vision was absent. The theme for this year’s budget is “Together, building tomorrow’s Guyana, today.”
Turning to the PPP/C’s 2006 manifesto Selman noted that the document outlined that the administration would expand on youth programmes and spend in excess of $1.5B over five years to train 25,000 young people in various skills.
“This promise meant that approximately 5000 young people with various skills per year; an examination of the very annual budget over the past four years would show how the government fell miserably short of this target. In this fifth year I anticipate that the minister responsible will try to impress by telling us how much of the money were allocated and spent over the last four years; how many young people were trained from which region; and the skills they acquired as a result …” Selman stated.
She also dared the minister to provide the employment records of the 25,000 youths.
Another manifesto promise Selman outlined was one to ensure social justice, gender equity and equality for youths and the fostering of supportive networks within communities so that they could be nurtured in secure environments.
“The government has certainly failed to deliver on this promise; young people continue to be the victims of torture and abuse by some members of our armed forces and they’re offered no protection nor do they receive speedy redress when such incidents are made public,” she said.
The Opposition MP also noted that the manifesto promised major investments in the popular sports such as cricket, football, and basketball. According to Selman, every year the minister boasts of the millions of dollars spent on sport equipment but she added what is needed is “equitable distribution of these allocations to the various regions.”
She added that while youth development required the involvement of family and the community the government has a responsibility to provide the enabling environment for them to so progress. According to Selman, given Guyana’s diversity any youth programme would have to be “innovative, imaginative and relevant.” Noting Ninvalle’s earlier statement that there were Youth Coordinators throughout the regions the PNCR-1G MP said they were not sufficient nor were they a substitute for a comprehensive policy. The implementation of a national youth policy, she said, would represent the government’s genuine commitment to implementing agenda issues, programmes and projects that are critical to youth development and empowerment.
“A number of the nation’s youth continue to feature prominently in Guyana’s crime statistics either as victims or criminals as a result of the fact that many of them are not actively engaged in positive activities nor are they employed. The minister should tell us what has been done to determine what programmes are best suited for these youths and what policies the government intend to design to address this challenge,” Selman said.
Unemployment, she opined, is perhaps the most fundamental problem facing youths today and said that while one minister was boasting of training over 6,000 youths finding jobs for them remained the real issue.
“Unemployment pervades all communities in Guyana though the government would want us to think otherwise,” she stated.
Selman said that the PNCR-1G believes that the government needs to create an enabling environment to attract foreign and local direct investments in order to create jobs.
