Crossfire | A brighter future beckons for Guyanese youths

BY MICHAEL YOUNGE
YOUNG people during the lead-up to the 2015 elections were promised that they would be further empowered to take their rightful place at the decision-making table by the politicians who made up the Alliance For Change and the A Partnership For National Unity, which has the People’s National Congress as its lifeline.

They were promised that if they were to vote for their ticket, the APNU+AFC Coalition would bring renewed hope and change that would see youth benefitting from skills-training, apart from what was being done by the then government. Youths were promised jobs and all sorts of entrepreneurial help. These youths were told that their future would be in good hands that understood their general needs to food security and homeowners, so that they could start a small family and thrive in Guyana. They were feed outright untruths about the crime situation in Guyana before the polls, only to get them worked into a frenzy so they could vote race and against the government, which admittedly was not doing enough to impact their lives in meaningful ways.

This led to the APNU+AFC clinching power, even though the PPP had doubts about the legitimacy of the outcome of the polls that year. Now being in government, the APNU+AFC politicians forgot the youths who were with them during the years in opposition. They disbanded every youth initiative that the PPP had started up, thereby sending thousands of young people on the unemployment line. Scores of young people in positions of power lost their jobs, including more than 4, 000 indigenous persons. The David Granger administration continued its public assault on young people by appointing a novice to the post of Education Minister after Dr Rupert Roopnaraine’s less than honourable stint in the post. There was no Ministry of Sport, just a director handpicked for the job.

Over the years, 2015 to August 2020, the APNU+AFC grouping did nothing for the development of education, culture, youth and sports. There is not one initiative which was birthed under that government that wasn’t conceptualised or started by the PPP while in office. A simple check with the policies and plans adumbrated by the minister responsible or any politician of the APNU+AFC’s ilk would confirm this. Youths soon found out the old proverb that promises are indeed a comfort to a fool.

So the young people quickly changed allegiance in 2020, but the master of trickery and deception wasn’t done just yet. The APNU+AFC started appealing to young people again, this time it was emotional and psychological. They backed up their efforts by making certain claims subliminally, which would later morph into them attempting to rig or steal the polls.
But youths have been taken for granted far too long in this country. Certain political elites and grassroot politicians see them as a bargaining block to whom they can appeal, use and abuse in the lead-up to, during and after electoral cycles. The young people have learnt now, so they know which way the wind is blowing. They can recognise who is by their side and who is the real opportunist. It took them a long time but they are going to break away from the traditions that held them in place and saw them exercising their franchise a certain way.
Finally, 2020 is the year when a person whom young people respect, trust and with whom they have something in common, was elected to serve in State House as the President.
President Irfaan Ali appears to be concerned about youth development and change. You can tell because he has appointed many youths to key positions in his Cabinet, including Charles Ramson, Susan Rodrigues, Hugh Todd and Nigel Dharamlall to name a few. His party, in power, appointed political newcomers who in some cases were not entirely new to the parliamentary circle, including Sonia Parag, Kwame Mc Coy and Collin Croal.

Ali’s administration is doing more for the education of Guyanese now than the Granger administration ever did. To date, house lots, scholarships and business grants appear to be within the reach of the masses, the poor and young people once more. The appointment of young professionals to serve in interesting yet significant portfolios is also a welcome and shocking change from his predecessor.

A Youth Policy Committee and Council are once again in the pipeline. A framework that will look at the state of Guyana’s youth population is being touted in certain circles of power. Almost all the plans for developing this grouping is already in sharp focus.

The President’s position is clear when it comes to the potential of young people, what they could do and will do in the future. A brighter future beckons for the Guyanese youth from all walks of life and political persuasions.

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