LOCAL Government is an ideal platform to mould the minds of young people into becoming leaders, Clayon Halley -– whose brainchild Youth for Local Government (YFLG) is –- has said in a one-on-one interview with Guyana Chronicle.The 25-year-old entrepreneur and auditor has started a movement with the anticipation of generating a massive support group of young people to contest the Proportional Representation (PR) and First-Past-The-Post components of the Local Government Elections, but only in the municipality of Georgetown.

Halley said it is important for youth to take the lead in Local Government Elections, considering the current construct of A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government.
Despite the important role played by the young people of Guyana during the May 11, 2015 General Elections, which led to the defeat of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) after approximately 23 years in office and the rise of the APNU+AFC coalition, Halley said, there is a lack of youth representation at the level of Cabinet.

“My belief is that we are not seeing a push for youth development and youth-related activities within the current construct of the Government, and that is because of the fact that there isn’t any youth representative at the Cabinet level. If we had a direct minister responsible for youth, or even a youth activist there, it would have been a different story,” he opined.

With no such representation at the level of Cabinet, the young entrepreneur said, he is now left to conclude that youth are being used as political tools in the lead-up to local, regional and general elections.

“I believe that we are being, to some extent, used as a political pawn. It is as if we are playing a chess game. At campaign season, when it is time for election, the energies and the creativity of the youth, it is being exploited for a good purpose, of course, to some extent; but we don’t see a meaningful youth engagement after that.”

In all fairness, Halley said, it is often dependent on the capacity of young people to lead, based on the required standard; but he maintained that those with the capacity should be utilised to make meaningful contribution on behalf of the majority.

YOUTH IN LOCAL GOV’T
“With the lack of youth involvement in Central Government, I think Local Government is a great avenue for young people to use to get involved in politics,” the 25-year-old said.

It was his initial plan to contest the upcoming elections as an individual, but he subsequently adjusted this to include youth in the municipality of Georgetown, based on the positive indications received from young people who are desirous of contesting the elections as well.
He said that, for many years, young people have shied away from being involved in local politics because of the racial and ethnic divides or stigma associated with the two primary parties in Guyana – the PPP/C and the People’s National Congress (PNC), hence establishment of YFLG to contest the Local Government Elections.

“I kind of shifted my thinking from running as an individual and decided to start a movement – YFLG – and I use it as a platform to educate young people on Local Government Elections and educate them on the importance of them playing a part in the elections.”

With Local Government Elections less than two months away, YFLG has already submitted for approval its symbol to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), in keeping with the established deadline

CIRCLE OF HOPE
The symbol, which is awaiting the approval of GECOM, constitutes all the colours of the Guyanese flag, and includes a circle representing the circle of hope. “A circle has no broken ends, and the circle of hope in this case represents a continuous flow of never-ending development. It also represents the desire of the people for positive and energetic change,” Halley explained.

He added: “At the centre of the Circle of Hope, the letters YL represents Youth Leadership. With youth in leadership positions, the creativity, skill, energy and knowledge needed to bring to fruition the hope of our constituents will be realised. To sum this up in one sentence: Youth leaders working for the greater good of Guyana, one community at a time.”

Under the YFLG umbrella, Halley is hoping to contest these elections as an individual candidate along with 14 other young leaders. Already, six individual candidates have stepped forward to contest in their constituencies. With no large source of finance readily available to run a campaign, Halley has decided to finance educational fora on the importance of youth participation in Local Government Elections. Additionally, the voluntary group will be pursuing a social media campaign.

By Svetlana Marshall

“Our main audience is young people….We want to show them that youth leadership is possible, and we want to encourage them to foster an attitude of youth leadership,” he disclosed.