Parliamentarians must put partisan differences aside – Dr Frank Anthony

Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony said that a level of maturity needs to be exhibited in Parliament now the Guyana is functioning under a minority government. He said that there are issues of national interest that both the government and opposition can have consensus on.

“All parliamentarians, I think, must put their partisan differences aside and work for the national interest.” Dr Anthony stated.

He was upbeat that government can get the opposition to look at issues that are cross-cutting and are of national importance.

“There shouldn’t be a minority or majority issue when it relates to people’s welfare. The Guyanese people voted for us because they have confidence in us and we shouldn’t let them down by creating gridlock and by creating problems, what we need to do is serve their welfare and their welfare can be best served if we can arrive at consensus,” Minister Anthony stated.

In the area of sport, Dr Anthony said that the main priority is the completion of the first ever synthetic athletics track in Leonora, Region Three. He said that the ministry is close to the completion of phase one of the project, which is the foundation works. He noted that a contractor has already been hired for phase two.

Addressing youth development, Minister Anthony noted that there is a youth policy in place, but it is outdated.

He noted that the work of the last consultant who was hired by the United Nations Development Programme to revamp the policy was not satisfactory.

“It might be more applicable for a developed country but certainly not a developing country like Guyana. We have terminated that consultancy and we want to engage the Commonwealth Youth Programme. We have been in discussion with the Commonwealth Youth Programme and hopefully, in the very near future, we can start the revision of our current youth policy,” Minister Anthony stated.

In terms of youth education, Dr Anthony said that the ministry has programmes for persons who would like to learn a trade. He said the programme at the Kuru Kuru Training Centre located on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway has expanded from 120 students to currently about 300.

“That’s a residential programme, people come and they live with us for 10 months and we are able to train them. We have added a recent feature to this programme, and that is, every student that comes to the programme, we are working with them to teach them how to drive, so they can leave with a driver’s license,” the minister stated.

Dr Anthony said the ministry in 2012 will look at accommodation for more students at the facility. He noted that the ministry has been having overwhelming requests that far exceeds the programme capacity.

Apart from residential programmes, Dr Anthony said that the non-residential programmes in Sophia and New Amsterdam are functioning effectively. He noted that on average, 120 students graduate every six months.

In the cultural development aspect, Dr Anthony said that one of the plans of the ministry is to establish an institute of creative arts. He noted that the Burrows School of Art and the National Dance School need to be upgraded to a higher standard. In addition, the minister said that certificates will be awarded to students of the music school.

“Next year, we will be working very hard to establish the drama school. We have spoken about this before, but we now have to work on the mechanics of establishing the school. We have already identified the National Cultural Centre as the place where the school will be housed and we have identified rooms where possible training can happen,” the minister said.