I HAVE noted the many pronouncements of His Excellency President David Granger. He has recently said that the Young Cadet Corps will be re-introduced to help with youth empowerment. He also indicated that the Corps will be voluntary and without the military aspect. I beg that the President reconsider the modus operandi of the scheme with a view to including the military aspect. A Young Cadet Corps in these times, without the military factor, will be yet another ordinary youth scheme, most of which have failed during the past decades.
A large percentage of the youth in Guyana has grown up in a lawless, undisciplined era. Many have come from broken homes in which parental authority is absent or weak. Some of them have no regard for rising up early in the morning, working steadfastly, and respecting those in authority. They have seen lawlessness in Government, lawlessness in communities, and lawlessness on the streets. And so, they practise what they see and have grown accustomed to. Teachers, guardians, parents, religions organisations, policemen and social workers can attest to this.
From giving some of my time voluntarily in trying to empower young people over the years, the most recent is with a group in the Sophia area, I can also attest that discipline is one of the key ingredients lacking in the youth population.
I have never been a member of the Young Cadet Corps or any military organisation. The closest I have come to the military was a three-month compulsory National Service stint while attending UG. Yet, I believe that the military aspect in the Cadet Corps will be most effective and beneficial in cultivating young people’s lives.
The President might have been conscious of his military background and so tried to ensure that he is not seen as militarising everything. However, he should take solace in the fact that the Cadet Corps will be voluntary. Those who apply will do so with the full knowledge of the curriculum of the Young Cadet Corps.
My propensity towards the inclusion of the military aspect is also based on dozens of applications in my possession from young people in one section of the Patterson/Turkeyen Area. They have applied to be members of the Young Visionaries Youth Organisation. Many of them, in school and out of school, have indicated that they want to learn some trade or to join the Police Force, Army, or Fire Service. Many of them do not have the entry-level requirements to enter any of the forces. A Young Cadet Corps with a military component will facilitate the best of all worlds for them: skills they desire to learn; an introduction to the military; and the discipline to be better citizens.
That having been said, I now present an option. In these times of tweaking things, we neither have to stick to the exact model of the past or throw out parts of the model all together. We can tweak the Young Cadet Corps to give entrants the choice to sign up for a militarised pathway or the non-militarised one. Additionally, the APNU+AFC Youth Arm, I suppose, that carried out a successful campaign on social media, can initiate discussion on whether or not the military aspect should be included in the Youth Corps.
Further, a quick survey can help to clarify the way forward. Empirical evidence empowers any process. We all might be surprised as to the number of parents and even young people who may well say yes to a youth corps with the military aspect. It would be better if we survey views, rather than err on the side of abundant caution.
LENNOX CORNETTE
Communications Specialist