CaricomNewsNetwork – Written by Calvin G. Brown
Kingston: Minister of Youth and Culture, Hon. Lisa Hanna Friday, May 3 met with representatives of several students associations to discuss the
Hon. Lisa Hanna, Jamaica’s Minister-of Youth and Culture
Ministry’s budget for the 2013-2014 financial year, the priority programmes of the Ministry and issues of concern to the students’ associations. The youth who participated in the meeting represented the National Secondary Students Council, the University of the West Indies Guild of Students, the University of Technology Students Union, the Jamaica Union of Tertiary Students, the Caribbean Maritime Institute Students Union, and the students union of Northern Caribbean University as well as the students’ councils of several high schools and colleges.
The meeting, which took place at the Ministry of Youth and Culture is one of a series being convened by the Minister and youth representatives across the country.
The meeting was also attended by Permanent Secretary in the Youth and Culture Ministry Mr. Sydney Bartley, Advisor on children affairs in the Ministry Mrs. Sadie Keating, Manager of Operation Phoenix at the National Centre for Youth Development (NCYD) which is within the Ministry – Ms. Andrene Blackwin, and Executive Director of the National Youth Service, Mr. Melvin Smith.
Minister Hanna disclosed that in the aftermath of the very successful Digital Jam 2.0 youth online entrepreneurship expo that was hosted by the Youth Ministry in collaboration with the World Bank last year, she was in dialogue with the World Bank for a similar activity this year focused on training young persons in the art of animation for video.
Minister Hanna informed the youth leaders that youth development received a $32.6 million budgetary increase for recurrent expenditure, while the National Youth Service’s allocation of $406.7 million represents an important increase over the 2012-2013 allocation of $393.2 million and a significant increase of 275 per cent over the $108.5 million provided in the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
“We were also able to secure a 100 percent increase in funding from which grant allocations will be made to the youth organizations and to support programmes for disabled youth,” Minister Hanna pointed out, adding that grant provision for uniformed groups also saw an increase of 100 per cent. This she said will now enable to Ministry to assist the uniformed groups to meet their payment obligations to international organizations.
Information related to the development and utilization of Youth Information Centres (YICs) across the island was also discussed and the Minister gave a progress report on the construction of new YICs in St. Catherine, Manchester and Clarendon.
