Culture, Youth andSport Minister DrFrank Anthonyhas said that the Guyanagovernment will addressthe issues of high youthunemployment and crimewith the implementationof a New National YouthPolicy (NYP), currentlybeing drafted.The minister madethis remark after receivingcopy of a recent reportfrom the CaribbeanCommission on YouthDevelopment (CCYD),which stated that theCaribbean has the highestrate of youth unemploymentand crime comparedto other parts ofthe world.In an interview withGuyana Times on Friday,Dr Anthony explainedthat through the UnitedNations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) andthe Enhanced PublicTrust, Security andInclusion (EPTSI) project,the ministry has engageda consultant tohelp develop the document.Anthony noted thatan expert committeehas also been selectedto develop the NationalYouth Policy by offeringthe consultant advice onthe document, which hasbeen ongoing for the pastthree months. The policy,he said, has a fixedtime in which it shouldbe completed before beingreviewed and finalised.That time is hopefullyby year end, so thatthe new National YouthPolicy may roll out forthe New Year.Dr Anthony told thisnewspaper that the newdocument is expected toplace more emphasis onyouth health, includingthe prevention of HIV/AIDS.Focus will also beplaced on tackling the issueof substance abuseamong youth, with emphasison preventativemeasures.Added to that, DrAnthony noted, the ministryhas also been payingkeen attention toyouth education, despitethe Ministry of Educationhaving that mandate.In order to fully addressthe issue of schooldropout, Dr Anthonysaid, the ministry heheads has been givingsome youth a secondchance through vocationaland technical trainingat many of its institutions,including the KuruKuru Vocational Centre.The success rate hasbeen substantial, accordingto the minister, andenrollment at the institutionhas grown.“In September, we gota new batch of 270 youth;an increase of 50 moreyouth from last year,” he said.Dr Anthony said,“There are a lot of job opportunitiesavailable,”but he stressed that theissue might be personsnot having the fundamental qualifications tosecure those jobs.The minister notedthat the ministry hasbeen involved in promotingseveral career fairsfor youth. This, he said, isto enlighten them on possiblecareer paths thatare highly marketable,and those that create opportunitiesthat can partiallyaddress the issue.Dr Anthony opinedthat too many Guyaneseyouth go for traditionalcareers in becoming doctors and lawyers.
He said that, with Guyana’s low carbon development push, there will be more employment opportu-nities in the field of en-vironment; while, with the upcoming explora-tions for oil in the coun-try, there will be demandfor more engineers. He opined that if youth choose careers in the de-veloping sector, they will have more job opportuni-ties. culture, youth and Sport minister Dr Frank anthony cus on training people inthe new sectors, as those sectors are developing quite rapidly.Conversely, in a re-cent press briefing, the PNCR said the future for youth in the country is ‘bleak.’ The party’s Chief Whip, Lance Carberry,explained that juvenile crimes carry heavy eco-nomic costs, which in-clude the direct financial costs related to public ex-penditure on security, po-licing, judicial processing and incarceration. Added to this, Carberry noted, crime also carries indirect costs linked to the inevitable earnings of the crimi- is perceived to be unsafe.The opposition party noted that, from a sur-vey done by the Health Ministry, youth were also engaged in unsafe and undesirable sexual practices, placing them-selves at risk; and that more than 50 per centwere shown to have con-sumed alcohol. Carberry stressed the need for a renewed youth policy at the earli-est possible time. He ex-plained that the current programmes being insti-tuted by government are inadequate, and as such cannot help in address-ing Guyana’s current youth unemploymentproblem.
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