Following years of constant delays on its completion, the National Youth Policy might finally come on-stream sometime this month, according to President David Granger.
Prompted for an update on this much talked about matter, President Granger explained that a white paper on the National Youth Policy is being prepared and will soon be laid in the National Assembly.
While noting that this is a cautious pronouncement, the President said the document could be ready sometime in this month.
Finance Minister Winston Jordan during the presentation of Budget 2016 announced that the National Youth Policy was finalised.
In August 2015, Presidential Adviser on Youth Empowerment Aubrey Norton had announced that the National Youth Policy draft had been completed and was awaiting review from the President and Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine.
The National Youth Policy is supposed to be a comprehensive policy document that states the vision of the Government of Guyana (GoG) for the youths of the country, and also how this vision would be realised by the Government. The Policy caters for the needs of the youths in the age group of 15-35 years, which constitutes over 50 per cent of the population.
It also identifies the vision and the five key objectives that are further sub-divided into several priority areas for youth development. It further suggests policy imperatives that should be implemented in each of these identified priority areas.
The National Youth Policy 2015 seeks to achieve a nation where all the young people are safe and healthy, have equal access to opportunities, can participate in public life, and are empowered to meaningfully contribute to Guyana’s sustainable, national development.
The previous Administration had held numerous consultations on this initiative in an effort to finalise and subsequently implement the policy
