All’s well at camps, says Lashley

Minister of Youth, Family and Sports Stephen Lashley is satisfied that the 62 camps in the National Camp Programme have settled down well.In a short telephone interview yesterday with the DAILY NATION, Lashley said the situation that was reported from the St Catherine’s School “never occurred and had to be someone playing a major prank”.“It was a total fabrication,” he said, adding that the matter would be further investigated.He said this year’s programme had deliberately assigned caterers from locations close to the camps to make sure that all meals were delivered on time, as was evident from most reports yesterday.Lashley, who was at the time touring a number of camps to see how the children had settled in, said the campers at St Mark’s and St Catherine’s seemed very “enthused” on their second day.“I left the children at St Mark’s making some baskets and they are quite happy. The younger ones were also having some sporting activities, so it seems that they have settled in quite well,” he noted.Lashley said that in the first week of camp there were usually some small glitches, but assured the DAILY NATION that he and other officers would be making the rounds at the camps and dealing with any snags.The minister said all camps that had not been supplied with their materials on Monday should have received them by yesterday.He noted, too, that security had been deployed at certain camps, which had been faced with some challenges last year. “There were some camps that are in large catchment areas and had some challenges last year, but we have made sure that there are security personnel at those locations this year,” he stated.Lashley promised that after all the camps had properly settled in, the media would be invited on a tour of a few camps to highlight their activities. (CT)