Young Vincentians quiz Leader of the Opposition

“How are you going to make life better for young people?,” was the question posed to Leader of the Opposition Dr Godwin Friday, by those who attended the New Democratic Party’s (NDP) first National Youth Dialogue last Thursday.

A question and answer session to address the concerns of the nation’s youth, which was promoted as ‘the first ever “National Youth Dialogue”,’ was held at the Frenches House on November 2 by the NDP.

The intention of the session was to provide an interactive and informative basis, which would see the Opposition Leader leaving the forum with a better understanding of the needs of the nation’s youth.

“When we conceived this discussion… we wanted to have a special meeting with the young people, at least to start the conversation, so that we could better understand what your concerns are, which would better inform those of us in Parliament,” explained Friday.

While very few students attended the event, young entrepreneurs and those just above school age were in attendance, eager to question the Opposition Leader.

Very early on in the discussion, when asked how he was going to make life better for young people in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Friday said he would start by boosting the economy.

“We train our young people, we have scholarships, we have a very good programme out at the Community College and then what happens after that? My preoccupation would be to create a vibrant and growing economy in St Vincent and the Grenadines,” he stated.

He further elaborated that to do so, he would add to the existing sectors, such as farming and fishing and look for new sectors of the economy to develop.

“We need to talk about creating this new Information Technology sector in the economy,” the Leader of the Opposition said.

The participants in the discussion were also very focused on asking questions about the private sector and what the Opposition would do to improve the situation in SVG, saying that the business scene in the country was “dead”.

Friday intimated through the forum that it was always the NDP’s intention and remains their intention to establish a Ministry for the Private Sector in SVG.

“We had said that, in fact, we would establish a Ministry for the private sector. It would be an area where you would go for a one-stop shop kind of arrangement, where you would have the Government essentially assisting the private sector to get their business going and reducing red tape,” he stated.

Also entering the discussion were social issues that have been prevalent in the country, including domestic violence and child abuse crimes. In his response to the question of what should be done, Friday stated that a special crimes unit is needed for those types of crimes.

He said such a unit should have “people that are both male and female that are properly trained to handle” crimes of that nature and “that would do it in a way that would preserve the evidence, that would give the victims the necessary confidence to pursue these matters.”

Similarly, a popular topic at the discussion was education, specifically scholarships in diverse areas and accreditation for the Associate Degree programmes at the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC). There were requests for scholarships in not just academic areas, but sports and culture as well.

“Some of the richest are musicians and sports personalities, yet I can’t tell you of 10 scholarships for sports or culture,” musician and DJ Garett John exclaimed.

A student of the SVGCC, currently engaged in an Associate Degree programme, stated, “I’m a bit concerned about the fact that as a student, we don’t really know what we’re getting into academically.” The student said the Associate Degrees offered are not always accredited, but there is a “smoke screen” preventing people from seeing this.

Friday, in agreement, stated, “We have to be honest about what it is and if there is a process of developing it and getting it accredited, then let’s be clear about it.”

He also said, “if the Community College has a programme that’s offering that Associate Degree, then it is possible for that programme to be developed, where it has regional and international recognition.”

Those young people who attended the Youth Dialogue demonstrated active participation, with many persons asking multiple questions, so much so that all concerns could not be addressed by the end of the event.(KR)