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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : Several youth group ...ge (Gleaner)...</span>
Lack of leadership, guidance, and inadequate management of even meagre resources were cited among the reasons for their disaffection with government inaction in general, and Grange's policy directives under her portfolio in particular.Speaking at a Gleaner Editors' Forum Friday, representatives of the National Youth Council, National Youth Parliament, University of the West Indies Guild of Students, National Youth Parliamentary Watch Committee, and Portmore Youth Council were unanimous in their assessment that the policies pursued by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture were, for the most part, missing the mark, with little or no relevance to its target audience."One of the immediate things that I would do, had I the power, is to remove the portfolio of youth from where it is now and place it with someone who is competent in managing the affairs of young people. Put it back under education where it belongs. It is not being managed properly, and I make no apology where that is concerned. It is not being managed properly and the young people of this country are suffering," Ryan Small, chairman of the National Youth Parliament, charged.Worried about the futureAnother youth leader confessed to being worried about the generations to come given the lack of direction from those in charge and their misapplication of the available scarce resources. He said the recent rehabilitation of the building housing the youth, sports, and culture ministry for $37 million was a blatant waste of money, especially given the cash-strapped status of the National Centre for Youth Development(NCYD)."We lack funding in every area," Ruth-Ann Lawrence of the NCYD and Jamaica's youth ambassador to the United Nations lamented. "Half of the time we don't even have paper to print; half of the time our phone lines are down; and youth empowerment officers aren't paid. It just grieves my heart. This is the worst I've seen, the worst."The sad state of affairs was blamed for so many youngsters becoming "laid-back and detached", with no interest in the direction of the country."They have no faith in the system, and as a result, anything is fine with me because there is nothing that I can do to affect real change," André Stephens of the National Youth Parliament charged. For this reason, he said, many are being sucked into the void created by the lack of opportunity for youth hungry for recognition and acceptance, which they seek to achieve by identification with gang-related and other deviant behaviour."We are not seeing what is needed to direct the young people along the path they need to go. The resources that are needed to ensure that the pace is set, it is not there, and so I am worried for the generation to come," this from a tertiary-level-educated youth leader.Health-care woesSmall, who admitted to being distraught after coming face to face with the harsh realities of the public health-care system after visiting a friend in the Kingston Public Hospital, cited the lack of proper health care and educational opportunities."There is no ambulance service, no sheet on the bed; they have to just stay there and suffer. It is just terrible," Small lamented, his voice almost breaking.The media also came in for criticism, with the youth leaders charging that they had no voice as their efforts to get coverage for positive youth-related activities were largely ignored. They believe this is because they are not considered sensational enough to be newsworthy.They also admitted to being intimidated, afraid of speaking out for fear of reprisals in the way of a reduction in the limited government resources now available."Government will not fund young people who are going to make noise against them," is how one summed it up.The youth leaders appealed to the Government to give them the opportunity to participate in and inform governance and other policy issues related to youth.When The Sunday Gleaner tried to contact Minister Grange on Friday, an aide advised that she was attending a function, while the ministry's director of communications, Oliver Watt, explained that staffers were busy preparing for today's Celebrating Excellence and the Prime Minister's Awards to be hosted by Prime Bruce Golding at Jamaica House. Yesterday, the same aide advised that the minister was at a Cabinet retreat, and, therefore, unavailable for comment.
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : Several youth group ...ge (Gleaner)...</span>
Lack of leadership, guidance, and inadequate management of even meagre resources were cited among the reasons for their disaffection with government inaction in general, and Grange's policy directives under her portfolio in particular.Speaking at a Gleaner Editors' Forum Friday, representatives of the National Youth Council, National Youth Parliament, University of the West Indies Guild of Students, National Youth Parliamentary Watch Committee, and Portmore Youth Council were unanimous in their assessment that the policies pursued by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture were, for the most part, missing the mark, with little or no relevance to its target audience."One of the immediate things that I would do, had I the power, is to remove the portfolio of youth from where it is now and place it with someone who is competent in managing the affairs of young people. Put it back under education where it belongs. It is not being managed properly, and I make no apology where that is concerned. It is not being managed properly and the young people of this country are suffering," Ryan Small, chairman of the National Youth Parliament, charged.Worried about the futureAnother youth leader confessed to being worried about the generations to come given the lack of direction from those in charge and their misapplication of the available scarce resources. He said the recent rehabilitation of the building housing the youth, sports, and culture ministry for $37 million was a blatant waste of money, especially given the cash-strapped status of the National Centre for Youth Development(NCYD)."We lack funding in every area," Ruth-Ann Lawrence of the NCYD and Jamaica's youth ambassador to the United Nations lamented. "Half of the time we don't even have paper to print; half of the time our phone lines are down; and youth empowerment officers aren't paid. It just grieves my heart. This is the worst I've seen, the worst."The sad state of affairs was blamed for so many youngsters becoming "laid-back and detached", with no interest in the direction of the country."They have no faith in the system, and as a result, anything is fine with me because there is nothing that I can do to affect real change," André Stephens of the National Youth Parliament charged. For this reason, he said, many are being sucked into the void created by the lack of opportunity for youth hungry for recognition and acceptance, which they seek to achieve by identification with gang-related and other deviant behaviour."We are not seeing what is needed to direct the young people along the path they need to go. The resources that are needed to ensure that the pace is set, it is not there, and so I am worried for the generation to come," this from a tertiary-level-educated youth leader.Health-care woesSmall, who admitted to being distraught after coming face to face with the harsh realities of the public health-care system after visiting a friend in the Kingston Public Hospital, cited the lack of proper health care and educational opportunities."There is no ambulance service, no sheet on the bed; they have to just stay there and suffer. It is just terrible," Small lamented, his voice almost breaking.The media also came in for criticism, with the youth leaders charging that they had no voice as their efforts to get coverage for positive youth-related activities were largely ignored. They believe this is because they are not considered sensational enough to be newsworthy.They also admitted to being intimidated, afraid of speaking out for fear of reprisals in the way of a reduction in the limited government resources now available."Government will not fund young people who are going to make noise against them," is how one summed it up.The youth leaders appealed to the Government to give them the opportunity to participate in and inform governance and other policy issues related to youth.When The Sunday Gleaner tried to contact Minister Grange on Friday, an aide advised that she was attending a function, while the ministry's director of communications, Oliver Watt, explained that staffers were busy preparing for today's Celebrating Excellence and the Prime Minister's Awards to be hosted by Prime Bruce Golding at Jamaica House. Yesterday, the same aide advised that the minister was at a Cabinet retreat, and, therefore, unavailable for comment.