National youth programme being fine-tuned

GOVERNMENT has no intention of restarting the Guyana National Service Programme, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon said on Friday.

He told reporters that the coalition government instead, intends to implement a Guyana Youth Programme. Harmon explained that President David Granger has called for an examination of all active youth programmes with the view of starting the Youth Programme which will focus on training and skills development for employment.

“In the first instance, what the President has asked is for all of the various expenditure for which Government undertakes, with respect to youths, that they be combined and be focused on youth development,” the Minister of State told reporters.

He said that moves have already been made to examine the identified programmes so that a merger can take place to have a national youth plan established. “We have already provided some of the Government ministries a training programme which speaks to the core of training activities that will be undertaken under that programme.” Facilities have already been identified where the training sessions will be conducted, he stated.

Harmon assured that work is being done on the programme. “…it is a directive which the President has given and it is something that at the various levels of ministries, we are working very hard to ensure we start.” The Guyana National Service (GNS) was a public service organisation formed in 1971 to address youth unemployment. It included a paramilitary element and was disbanded in 2000, amidst some controversy.

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