Why are so many jobless still liming on the block?

Editor: I recently had the opportunity to listen to the Prime Minister in a casual conversation at Phil’s Bar on Heritage Square. I was highly amused when he pointed out that members of the opposition in Parliament did not know what “Pon de Replay” was or who were Rhianna and Sizzla. He made reference to this being further evidence that the opposition is ill-equipped to understand the needs of the young people in this country.{{more}}

I have to agree with the Comrade. Including five young persons on their slate of candidates does not mean that the New Democractic Party understands the needs of the youth. Indeed if they did, their public meetings would be full of music and artistes, both local and foreign. After all, that is what the youth in this country want, loud music and free fete.

Since the Comrade is so well informed in relation to the youth, I am positive that measures are in place to assist junior teachers, who now have to cope with the added pressure of students who are not academically ready for secondary education. I applaud the universal access to education programme, but as a junior teacher myself, I am not blind to the struggles facing myself and others in relation to dealing with students who are not ready for the secondary school programme.

I wish the Prime Minister had understood enough to prepare the entire teaching fraternity, so the problems we face now would have been kept to a minimum. I still don’t understand enough to figure out the benefits of the proposed Education Bill to my colleagues and me. I wish he would explain them.

I am also aware of the number of youths liming on the block all day, every day, in the various communities throughout the country. The comrade obviously understands why this is taking place. I am now at a loss as to why he hasn’t done anything to change this situation. As he puts it, the New Democratic Party never did and still does not understand the needs of the youths. So with his great knowledge, why are they still on the blocks?

We appreciate your understanding although it’s a shame that we can’t speak of being as understanding about the obvious lack of jobs. We have yet to see the fruition of the promised 1000 jobs. We certainly can’t understand why the strings of promises that you continue to make seem never to take form. We appreciate being able to talk to you about the latest trends in pop culture. We don’t appreciate however your using that as an instrument in your campaign. We know exactly what we want and now that we’ve had the chance to compare, we know who to support this time around.

Anesta Charles – Sion Hill