WHILE the Minister of Youth fumed and vented on Saturday afternoon, some of his young charges were pelting waist on Lower Broad Street.
Oblivious to the other social happenings around him, Minister Stephen Lashley spewed his anger at his officers and National Youth Forum (NYF) operatives on account of the stark absence of youths at the much touted Symposium On Crime And Violence.
The problem was the Solidarity House event wasn’t touted enough – not for the minister. Mr Lashley was not remotely impressed that the people in his ministry had promoted the youth affair properly. He hinted they may not even have been interested – and he let them have it.
“It is a public warning I am sending to the officers in the Ministry of Youth: get on board,” he raged. “You are not being paid to sit at a desk or pursue your own policies and agenda. Get on board with the policies of this Government.”
As we were alluding to earlier: there were some other major things happening that Saturday afternoon; not least among them the Courts 45th anniversary Independence/Christmas parade. Let’s be frank about it. Youths love to parade; especially where there is music. Mr Lashley knows this well. He employed the hip-swaying sounds at the July launch of the forum. Music is essential, and powerful; and it sets tones. And we wondered about the excess entertainment at the launching of the NYF, not to mention the posturing. Was the right tone set then? Dr Ivan Henry, adviser to the forum, himself crestfallen over the poor turnout on Saturday, said he and his members had worked hard preparing for the event. They had sent out invitations to “every single young person who has shown interest in the National Youth Forum since July 4”.
Dr Henry even claimed he had personally sent letters “to 21 secondary schools”. The adviser was less adversarial than Mr Lashley. He seemed to have been acknowledging quite simply that his best was not good enough. Of course, the question is: if all concerned youth were indeed apprised, why did they not turn up? Was it becasue there was no major entertainment; that the big show was somewhere else?We cast no blame, of course, on the Courts spectacle; but Mr Lashley needs to step into the real world. There is competition for youth attention out there.
We warned the minister against thinking his National Youth Policy initiative would be any reformation of reformations; that youth’s challenges and troubles along life’s course would be no different merely by the imput of the young.
All youth need to be positively guided and coached – and coached.
We sympathise with the minister over his disappointment, but advise him against rushing to speak in anger.That he would encourage those currently in the Ministry of Youth Affairs “who don’t intend to step up to the plate” to find somewhere else to go may be another outlandish promise that cannot be fulfilled.