State to empower youths

 The Government is trying to give youths a better chance. 

A trip by senior government officials from the departments of Personnel Management, Prime Minister’s Office, Provincial Affairs and the National Youth Development Authority (NYDA) to the Highlands region was hailed a success, with a three-day consultation with representatives from the seven Highlands provinces.  

NYDA acting director Norit Luio assured youths the Government was concerned at the alarming statistics on widespread social disorder involving youths. 

“We now have the full mandate from the Government to ensure all levels of governments and their partners fulfil Government directives and NYDA to provide the right products to all our provinces,” Luio said, adding that the breakdown in youth empowerment policy was due to lack of communication by provincial administrations. The Government officials were acknowledged for receiving 16 recommendations from the Highlands provincial youth representatives.

One of the recommendations was the need to establish NYDA regional office in Jiwaka. 

Other recommendations included 10 per cent funding from provincial services improvement programme (PSIP) funding, district services improvement programme (DSIP) funding, local level government services improvement programme (LLGSIP) funding and other grants directly for youth programs in the provinces.

Luio promised to establish NYDA regional offices and expressed satisfaction over the recommendations made.  He said a collaborative effort was needed to ensure the success of the Government vision.

“Our key areas of improving the quality of young peoples’ lives, accessing integrated education, nurturing sustainable livelihood, promoting healthy lifestyle, building stronger communities, strengthening institutional capacity, youth identities, research information and data collection of youth and law and order. 

“We have a product to provide to youths to enhance their quality of life because they are a national interest,” he said. The team will visit the Mamose region this week.