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Spending so much on cricket cannot be right! [From Main Page]

On many of my routine walks I pass several public schools. There is one that I always notice, a high school - some of its windows appear to have been blown out by an atomic bomb. This appearance is typical of our public schools. The poor state of many of our schools is well known. Many of them still do not have flush toilets - this in the 21st century! I understand that some of them don’t even have electricity. I have seen some of them, on television that has more water in the classrooms than outside whenever it rains. Far too many of them remain poorly equipped - they are in no state to educate our people for this century, or even the last one. The state of our basic schools - what we are being told is the foundation of a person’s education, is too shameful to describe here. How is it that we cannot find the money to give our people a respectable education system, but we can find many times that amount to watch people dressed in white throwing rocks at each other?

One a recent news programme, we were told that some of our police officers have to be paying for the gas used to power police cars themselves - out of their own pockets. Some of our police stations don’t even have police cars. Many times, the police must use their own personal vehicles to do police work - not their personal work. I saw one police station on television in which the officers were afraid to use an upstairs toilet. Why? Nobody wanted to fall through the floor while tending to nature’s call. Another station was shown that had an overflowing sewer causing great discomfort not only to the occupants but the whole community. Our entire justice system is not only outdated, but also unable to cope. How is it that we cannot find the money to have a proper justice/police system, but we can find many times that amount to watch people running up and down hardened pitches with tree trunks in hand?

All of this that I have described is typical of the state of affairs in Jamaica today. In addition to wasting a lot of scarce money through corruption, we continue to squander a lot through inappropriate priorities. Seven billion dollars could go a long way in remedying a lot of other, more pressing problems.

This over commitment that we have for this world cup cricket is testament to something else that I have been saying all along - the over emphasis that we continue to place on entertainment. I have been saying this for a long time and I will continue to say this: as a people, it is clear that all we can do is entertain. We don’t see any need to invest this huge sum of money in education because we don’t see any point in being a highly educated people. Entertainers don’t need much education when it comes to entertain, as such the seven billion dollars would be wasted in education. As we must be a people of entertainers, what better way to demonstrate this than to pump a lot of scarce money into entertainment? As I keep saying - only an inferior thinking people thinks like this!

Those amongst us who continue to think that spending so much money (that we don’t have - it must be borrowed) is right are either very selfish or very ignorant or both. Some of these people will be making a lot of money from the event, especially some in the media. These people are too selfish to give a damn about the many Jamaicans who will be denied a proper education, health or justice system because of the cricket that we cannot even win. Some of the rest who continue to think that our joint sponsorship is fine are too ignorant to understand anything but dancehall music.

There is no way that spending so much money on this sporting event is right - especially when one considers the fact that we don’t have it to spend in the first place.

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EC$2m boost for Youth Business Trust [From Main Page]

The Government of Dominica's move has received swift responses from agencies and individuals involved in supporting youth development initiatives on the island including the Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre (CYPCC).

In a letter to the Honourable Prime Minister, CYPCC Regional Director, Mr. Henry Charles said: "I was very pleased to learn of your Government's decision to invest $2 million E.C in the creation of further opportunities for sustainable livelihoods for the youth of , through the CYP supported Dominica Youth Business Trust. Under your leadership, there has been sustained and tangible investment in the youth of the Commonwealth of Dominica, and this is another clear and unequivocal demonstration of political will and political commitment to youth development."

Roosevelt Skerrit

"The money will be allocated to training and skills development as well as to allow for an increase in the Loan Guarantee Fund of the DYBT. It is hoped that the latter will assist more young persons to access funding for setting up small businesses."

"I am ecstatic that we achieved these results in our first year" said Ashman-East of GoGSAT "we are here to stay and will only get better. We will be adding more fun GSAT learning activities to our system and will ensure that students are adequately prepared for their GSAT examination." "Honourable Prime Minister, we at CYP salute your investment in the youth of the Commonwealth of Dominica. As a trusted partner and stakeholder in youth empowerment and development in the Region, we also reaffirm our continued commitment to working with your Government to support the emergence of empowered, educated and self-actualized youth who are beneficiaries to national and international development. We avail ourselves of this opportunity to renew assurances of our highest consideration," he stated.

The Loan Guarantee Fund has been established to facilitate youth entrepreneurs in accessing loans for micro enterprise development. A memorandum of Agreement was signed on March 16, 2005 between the Dominica Youth Business Trust and the National Development Foundation of Dominica, the Agricultural Industrial and Development Bank of and all the Cooperative Credit Unions.

Since the Trust was launched in 2004, eighty-nine young persons between the ages of 18-35, have graduated, having benefited from training courses in a number of areas, including: Small Business Management; Achievement Motivation and Financial Management. The Programme comprises a component of Personal Development, Small Business Development and Business Mentorship.

The Mission of the Dominica Youth Business Trust is: Empowering Dominican youth in realizing their entrepreneurial potential.

Ms Dwynette D. Eversley, Programme Manager responsible for Youth Enterprise and Sustainable Livelihoods, in commending Dominica, recalled that the Commonwealth Youth Credit Initiative (CYCI) model is predicated on Government's provided and enabling environment for youth business development.

When CYPCC met with the Honourable Prime Minister of Dominica earlier this year, he was very aware that young people face greater than average financing and other constraints in starting up their businesses and he shared several steps that his Government has taken to promote youth enterprise such as access to Government lands for agri-business and other targeted support.

"This direct financial injection takes the type of support we have received since starting up the DYBT programme in 2004 to another level" stated Ms. Eversley. "It is one of the most encouraging gestures in empowering young people through entrepreneurship, and the Hon. Prime Minister's initiative is clear evidence that the Government is committed to creating sustainable livelihoods for young Dominicans."

"We have had remarkable successes with our youth enterprise programme in so far. The Prime Minister's investment comes at a time when the success of the programme is creating more demand. There is a good team managing the delivery to the young people, and we hope this injection of capital can smooth the way for easier credit for youth businesses. If we can get similar levels of commitment from other regional Governments who are all committed to youth development, the social and economic fabric of our Caribbean community will certainly be positively transformed." Ms Eversley added.

Meanwhile, Micro-Credit Expert to , Dr Siddhartha Dash, feels that that government's boost of EC$2M to DYBT is a welcome sign at such a critical point in time. "It will go a long way in stimulating, supporting and sustaining the culture of entrepreneurship in ."

According to Dr. Dash, what is needed now is a long term plan and expertise in order to strengthen the various aspects of entrepreneurship. He noted that with the necessary support, will be a role model in the Caribbean when it come to entrepreneurship.

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