By Angelina Brooks
Volume 1 Part 2
There is no doubt that the IMANI Programme that harnesses the potential of young people has become an underlying feature in the Nation’s development.
Designed by the New National Party (NNP) in the early turn of the 21stcentury, young people from a wide cross-section of Grenada received opportunities that invite them to the World of work and positive engagement.
The idea was to encourage them to face the future with confidence and a great deal of optimism.
That is among the many attributes that has been accomplished with many young people being drafted in to perform employable duties in many sectors, giving them a taste of what lies ahead in their lives.
Undeniably, the programme has won acclaim throughout the region and in the Commonwealth at large. It is viewed as an ambitious strategy to have young people occupied in worthwhile ventures, for it is well-known what can transpire if young minds are left idle.
The Government of the day, led by Prime Minister Mitchell, was given much praise for initiating the process that was formulated moreso on the understanding that the youth are the future of the Nation and it was time for them to take their rightful place in nation-building.
It is sad to say, though, that the NDC administration of July 8, 2008 to February 19, 2013, did not have a clue about the concept, neither did the elements within the regime, have the level of wisdom to energies or encourage the youth into even meaningful activities within their communities.
The end result was a disgraceful dismantling of the programme, compounded by the NDC’s inability to fulfill their dreamy promises of increasing stipend for the youth who were engaged in a replacement exercise.
Be that as it may, NNP is back and obviously listening to the voice of youth, the IMANI programme is back; in its upgraded form… deficiencies corrected and ready to accommodate some three thousand young people.
According to the Prime Minister, “The Government understands that if we do not take care of our youth, our Country has no future.”
The programme fits squarely into the Nation’s new economic paradigm, where young people are armed with the requisite knowledge of conducting themselves on the job.
The 2014 Budget gives priority to this sector as one of the engines that will help in putting Grenada on a path of economic sustainability.
Young people are also entrusted with the responsibility to be self-employed and be entrepreneurs with the Government making funds available, which young people can access for the setting up of micro businesses.
The Nation’s churches, likewise, are also being encouraged to play a greater role in the development of youth and the government is chipping in with some half-a-million dollars in this respect that will go towards initiating projects for our young people.
That’s the scope of a Government that’s thinking about the future.
NNP says all power to the Nation’s Youth as we partner together to rebuild this dear land of ours.
