Kouza pledges K250,000 every year to help youths

 MINISTER for Community Development and Lae MP Loujaya Kouza has committed K250,000 annually to help upgrade youth life skills in city settlements.

First secretary to the minister, Major Sere Kala, who is the Chief Scouts Commissioner, announced this during the Ginigoada cum Talac Ngang-Ga business development training graduation in ward one of Lae urban council.

Kala said that the K250,000 would be an annual funding that would cater for unemployed youths and women to ensure they learnt practical skills to enable them to earn a living.

Two hundred-and-forty-four people who trained in ward one Lae urban graduated on Tuesday, while 600 in Ahi are yet to graduate. 

Digicel PNG Foundation co-funded the training.

Kala said that youths were the foundation of developmental activities taking shape in Lae and they would be involved in direct and indirect employment activities to maintain and transform the city. 

Meanwhile, West Taraka police station commander Sgt Cathy Rimbao said Lae was at crossroads as far as youth problems were concerned and required leaders at all levels to consider solutions.

“Youths were being used as rubber stamps by others for self-gain and fame while actual issues affecting youths were never solved,” Rimbao  said.

“The question is who is actually going to sustain development taking place in Lae?”

She said that it was more appropriate and wiser to shape the intellectual ability of the youths and women today for a better Lae tomorrow.