ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA, Thursday, April 03, 2014: The New IMANI Programme was foremost on the Agenda of the 12th meeting of the Committee of Social Partners last Friday, March 28th, 2014.
A presentation by the Minister of Youth Empowerment and Sports, Hon. Emmalin Pierre, and a team from her Ministry, on the New IMANI Programme, addressed some major concerns that were raised by members of the Social Partners at previous meetings. It was a as a result of these concerns that the Prime Minister thought it would be a valuable exercise to have that Ministry make a presentation to the Committee of Social Partners (CSP). The Minister and her team provided an overview of the Programme and outlined the monitoring and evaluation process that is being used to assess the trainees. Mrs. Pierre also highlighted some of the challenges of the Programme as well as some of its successes thus far.
It was revealed that close to 300 trainees have been terminated due to breaches including absenteeism (10 or more absences over a given time period). It was also pointed out that, in one instance where an employer had terminated his employees on receipt of IMANI trainees, the Ministry immediately withdrew the trainees, as the Programme is not intended to be a job replacement Programme.
On the other hand, several trainees have already found permanent employment and many more are testifying of the positive change that the mandatory personal development training has made in their lives. The “Hotline” for complaints and suggestions for the New IMANI Programme is (473) - 418-1875.
The members of the CSP took the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback on observations with regards to the Programme. They also provided suggestions for improvement and overcoming some of the challenges being faced. The Presentation was well received by the CSP.
Other items on the Meeting’s Agenda were (i) the finalization of the Social Compact and Action Plan, which should be signed shortly and tabled in Parliament; (ii) a Joint Monitoring Framework for the Home Grown Programme; (iii) the Carriacou Marina Project, and (iv) the resumption CSP’s public education series. It was decided that the public education series will resume at the end of April 2014, with a discussion on Constitution Reform which will be followed immediately by a discussion on the Social Compact. The discussion on the Social Compact will highlight the elements and importance of the Social Compact to all partners involved and the general population on a whole. In the meantime, the Social Compact can be accessed at http://www.gov.gd/egov/pdf/Social_Compact.pdf for review by the general public.
The CSP meets on a monthly basis and is chaired by the Prime Minister.
