Latest update November 15th, 2024 1:00 AM
National Service Reunion…Granger urges ex-members to look to future for youth development
Last Wednesday saw the convening of ex- Guyana National Service (GNS) members for only the second time since the organisation’s dissolution. There were persistent calls for National Service to be reintroduced, but President David Granger urged the group to instead look to the future rather than the past.
The President also encouraged the ex-members to take ten months to come up with an alternative plan, geared to making youths more self-sufficient and entrepreneurial in their outlook. Granger pointed to a lack of this, as well as shortfalls in Education, as the real problem of youth unemployment and underdevelopment.
Ex-members of the GNS arrived in Guyana, mainly from the United States of America, for the grand reunion, since Sunday. Dozens of ex-members of the GNS gathered at the Carifesta Sports Complex for the event, where ideas were shared on what role the organisation can play in youth development. There, members shared their views on what can be done to deal with social issues affecting the country’s youths,
According to Granger, too many youths have fallen prey to the social ills of society and he stated that a lot of talent is being wasted by having youths locked away in correctional facilities for minor offences, hence his order soon after taking office, releasing dozens of youths convicted of minor offences from prison.
President Granger addressing ex-members of the Guyana National Service
“The big problem facing this country and young people is not the absence of national service. It’s poverty,” the President said. Recognising this, the President said the cycle of poverty must be broken and one sure way of doing so is by affording children access to education.
“My analysis is that the major cause of poverty is the education system; the poor education. Many of us started off life poor but we were able to escape from poverty because we decided to educate ourselves, and that is what National Service did,” Granger added.
Against this backdrop, Granger said his administration will continue to make education a priority by ensuring that every child has easy access to education and that equal opportunities are created.
The recent event was among a series of activities, which started on August 22, in observance of the second GNS local and overseas chapters’ reunion. The forum afforded members to put forward ideas, which would see the organisation playing a greater role in overall youth development, while at the same time, addressing social ills of society. The last such reunion was held in 2012.
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