11 investments in Guyanese youth

Dear Editor,

I grew up on the adage ‘youths are the future’; I say youths are the now. It’s a great time to be young, and especially in Guyana as opportunities abound. And as my mother says, ‘The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of the opportunity.’

President David Granger rightly said also, that, “Youth development must equip young people with the right education, the right attitudes and the right values if they are to go out into the world and become productive and useful citizens. Youth development must overcome the challenge of unemployment. Youth development, also, must give birth to a new generation of Guyanese entrepreneurs; of leaders; of pioneers, young people who are prepared to explore new avenues and opportunities in our economy.”

There is no excuse for someone who escaped the formal education system as there are enough opportunities to bring one’s self on par with those who have been exposed to formal schooling. Locally, I have identified eleven significant investments government is making in our youth; literally millions of dollars is being invested or is ready to be channelled toward our youth.

The suite of programmes include the Small Business Bureau (SBB); Sustainable Livelihood & Entrepreneurial Development (SLED); Local Areas Economic Profile (LAEP); Local Economic Development Strategic Plans (LSPs); Community Infrastructure Improvement Programme (CIIP); Citizen Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP); Micro and Small Enterprise Development (MSED) Project; Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Training (YEST) programme; Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS); Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) platform; Youth Innovation Fund (YIF).

Allow me to elaborate on just a few: The Small Business Bureau was established to promote policies and programmes which foster small business development. The Minister of Business recently lamented that the SBB’s targets are not being met. One publication noted, “Though it has been implementing the programme for three years the bureau is still to disburse more than 80% of a targeted 800 loans under the programme, it has only disbursed 233 of a targeted 300 grants and has created and sustained only 735 jobs under both programmes. It was expected to have created and sustained 2,200 jobs.” Why aren’t our youths taking full advantage of this opportunity?

I was privileged have launched in my Constituency (14) the Ministry of Public Security’s Citizen Security Strengthening Programme (Component 1: Community Crime and Violence). The specific objective of this component is to improve behaviours for non-violent conflict resolution in target communities which will contribute to the overall aim of the programme: contribute to a reduction in crime and violence in Guyana especially in the targeted communities and among youths through skills training.

300 youths will benefit from entrepreneurial training initially, training to approximately 4,000 at-risk youth over the next four years. Students will be supported with small grants to facilitate small business start ups. Each youth will be given approximately 70 US per month to cover transportation to and from school, meals and other expenses. Teenage mothers and fathers will be provided with additional resources to cover day care support. This is a five million US investment overall.

In 2017 Government aims to focus, “on the empowerment of individuals and the facilitation of small and micro-enterprise, expanding existing programmes aimed at fostering youth entrepreneurship. The Micro and Small Enterprise Development (MSED) Project will continue with its financing and training and development activities, targeting prospective and established entrepreneurs and small businesses.