Amid the row over the rejected US$ 13.1 million United States Agency for International Development (USAID) governance project, the Local Government Ministry announced on Monday that other internationally-funded projects are progressing smoothly.
Despite a few hiccups during the initial stage, Local Government Ministry Permanent Secretary Collin Croal said the US$
150,000 Empowerment Inclusion and Reconciliation Programme (YEIRP) will be completed by the second quarter of 2014 while the Caribbean Local Economic Development Project (CARILED) funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has completed its mandate for 2013.
First component
Croal made the comment while speaking at the ministry’s end-of-year news conference.
It was reported that the first component of the YEIRP initiative has been completed while the second component is near completion.
The project is being implemented in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and 10.
Croal said 30 young potential leaders completed training under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) initiative on September 14. The leader completed courses in understanding government structures in Guyana, transformational leadership, advocacy and participation in policymaking, project development and implementation, conflict transformation and fostering peace, understanding human rights and strategies in community development.
ICT
Meanwhile, the second aspect of the project focuses on the use of social media and information communication technology (ICT) platform by young people to interact with policymakers and aid in the national decision-making.
Already the ICT strategy paper has been developed and the six ICT hubs in the six regions have been identified. “The computers to be placed within these hubs have already been procured. Each of the hubs will have two computers,” the permanent secretary said, noting that through the programme, participants will be able to procure BlackBerry cellular phones at a reduced price from Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT& T) while the telephone giant will provide free hotspots for the first six months.
