The Education Ministry announced months ago that it has completed a modern National Youth Policy which aims to address several burning issues affecting Guyana’s youth population.
The policy, from all indications, sets out a bold and realistic framework for the advancement of the social, economic, cultural and academic upliftment of youths in all 10 administrative regions, with a heavy focus on those residing in the rural and hinterland areas.
As expected, the Government wasted no time in promoting the newly completed policy which it promised would be tabled in the National Assembly, made public and then implemented immediately so that youths who were the ultimate beneficiaries could begin to see results.
After all, it was always the intention of the new A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change coalition once it became Government (according to its 2011/15 manifesto) to reduce youth unemployment and haplessness; reduce youth crime and criminality; reduce the rates of suicide and teenage pregnancy; advance the socio-economic interests of youths by providing equitable access to opportunities and scholarships; cause the reformation of the public education sector through the establishment of more schools, higher standards, and the upgrade of quality education provided via tertiary intuitions and more specifically the University of Guyana.
There can be no doubt that over the past year and a half, senior politicians in the coalition have recommitted themselves to pursuing the ideals outlined in both the youth policy and there manifestos. They continue to make reference to the issues affecting youths at various forums with the aim of highlighting what should be done and what needs to be done.
Whenever they do this, especially in the presence of youths, they score political points and gain ground because their cunning linguistics and paradoxical oratory skills appear most pleasing, promising, honest and genuine to the gullible, the desperate and those youths who lack both the intellectual capacity/aptitude to think independently and the skill of common sense analysis.
But those who make it their duty to keep themselves informed and abreast with current affairs as well as knowledgeable of the policies and reforms being pursued by David Granger’s Government cannot be hoodwinked, fooled or silenced.
In fact, they are perturbed, concerned and frustrated by the lack of progress made in the full implementation of National Youth Policy, and the snail’s pace at which the other Government controlled agencies are addressing youth concerns.
Like me, they believe that the senior politicians are failing them daily when one looks at the ancient, piecemeal and most times ethnically discriminatory actions being taken by the Government under the guise of commencing the process of providing a “good life” for youths.
Over the last year and a half, statistics provided by the Social Protection Ministry and its Labour Department show that unemployment and joblessness have increased by at least six per cent. The suicide rate has doubled, with youths in rural communities being the largest category of victims. Youth crime has also increased which has resulted in the increase of persons on remand who are mostly between the ages of 17 and 35.
There is no realistic cultural programme being pursued to get young people involved in the development of the cultural arts or in the creation of newer forms of sub-cultures that could redefine Guyana’s image in this respect within the region and the competitive international arena.
Regrettably, youths are feeling isolated, deprived and put upon by adults especially politicians who they trusted because of their failure to deliver on the menu of initiatives that were promised at elections time. Now feeling used and betrayed, many young people are opting to migrate to other countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, US and Canada where the pastures appear more greener, promising and pro-youth.
The truth is, all Guyanese youth aspire to achieve is the ownership of their own homes at affordable prices; an education on which they could secure opportunities to various career paths in order for them to make their mark and change the world in which they reside; a family that could thrive and lead a good life without fear of being discriminated on the basis of their skin colours, religion or social standing; and Government that respects the will of the electorate and that understands the importance of inclusionary democracy.
It’s just a year and a half into the tenure of the new Government and youths are already realising that the “more things change, the more they remain the same”. The Government cannot continue to live in its own bubble and neglect youths. It must act or history will not be kind to it because future generations will not lead “good lives” if the next Government come 2020 is still trying to play catch-up with the rest of the world.
Better must come!
