Raymond Pryce, Contributor
Statistics released by STATIN indicating that in 2009 nearly 400,000 Jamaicans aged 15-29 were either unemployed or out of the labour force tell a tragic tale about our country's future. As we note that the Government has commenced its preparations to celebrate our 50th anniversary of political Independence, one wonders whether festivities should be the major aspect of those observances. Some amount of stocktaking needs to happen well in advance of August 6, 2012. The primary purpose must be as a nation to finalise the agreed strategy that we will collectively employ to make Jamaica salvageable. A national accord, or a common vision, as to how we will shape the next 50 years of our national development is the best gift we could give our ancestry. In my opinion, such an outcome would appropriately honour the toil of those who have gone before us and whose contributions have given us the opportunity to become the best that we can be.
It has often been said that the past is a place of reference, not a place of residence. Many of our commentators and state actors have shown that they are able to refer to events and processes of the past but sadly seek to want to reside there. This tendency is reflected in many ways. It includes my own grandmother who smilingly recalls how "nice and lovely Jamaica once was" and decries the "sad state of affairs" when she listens in on the evening news. It includes "esteemed" professors who appear keen on revisionism and revision without practicable recommendations that will prevent recurrences. It is the absence of the diligence to solve and resolve the existing and emerging challenges that face us which creates the national dilemma documented in the various reports from STATIN and or the Planning Institute of Jamaica. Surely, all the looking back that may comfort us will not redress the fact that in 2009, some 331,000 Jamaican youth have either stopped looking for work or have opted out of the labour force.
Another known fact is that policy cannot be designed for a beneficiary if that beneficiary is an unknown entity. Quite unsurprisingly, therefore, national youth leaders speaking at a Gleaner Editors' Forum bemoaned the fact that they were being excluded from the policy-development process or otherwise felt underserved by the youth ministry and the state agencies that have been established to promote youth development. So, at the very least, Jamaica has taken step one with respect to the state apparatus. There is a youth ministry which includes a retinue of agencies such as the National Centre for Youth Development. There is also the National Youth Service, which is in the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Health has programmes, projects and offices that look at child safety and adolescent reproductive health, among other core issues, while the Ministry of Agriculture has had Youth in Agriculture programmes from time immemorial. Yet, somehow, the target audience feels ignored and underserved. Clearly, therefore, there is a disconnect. What are the missing links? Who are our youth? What do they want?
Influence and Affluence
Professor Don Robotham highlights another shocking piece of the puzzle. Some 220,000 Jamaicans from the 15-29 age cohort are neither in school, at work nor seeking to go into some form of education or work. Clearly, some other activity or influence is receiving their patronage. A cursory study of the latest popular cultural personalities may reveal some answers. In this regard, Vybz Kartel is a key actor. Whether it is his lightning-sharp lyrical wit or his lightening technique that has changed his skin colour or even his preferred footwear, Vybz Kartel is a successful phenomenon worth studying if we are to become serious about re-engineering our society with a productive youth cohort. Certainly, the acquisition of a Benz showcases the affluence that our culture - dominated by youth - can create. And, as in any area of pursuit, he who has affluence wields influence. So it is in business, as it is in politics and in the societal reality of dancehall and the inner city.
Youth are impressionable. So it is unsurprising that the Clarks brand is the choice shoes among schoolboys. As is the curious habit of wearing increasingly tight pants that fall about the hips. The choice beverages include Street Vybz rum, The Building is the place to be on a Thursday night and, well, the sale of cake soap has never been more profitable. Fortunately, most of them are made right here in Jamaica. Related to this is the fact that our young girls seek out these Kartel clones, linking the two most powerful human motivators (money and sex) into a predictable behaviour among our youth.
Looking at the full picture
Other pieces of the puzzle include the high rate of teenage pregnancies, the high rate of sexually transmitted infections and the ever-present phenomenon of absentee fathers and now absentee mothers. We can look to sub-Saharan Africa for a better understanding of the likely outcomes of such developments. Economies and societies have collapsed because of the missing-generation syndrome. Grandparents become solely responsible for the care of their grandchildren occasioned by the deaths (incapacity) of their parents because of HIV-related diseases. There are also growing concerns about the ability of families to nurture and nourish their children. Here a review of the lunch menu for scores of inner-city children at the primary level is crucial. The main items are the very salty and the very sweet. Typically a pack of Cheeze Trix, or chocolate-chip snack and a Chubby suffice as lunch. In the rural and subrural areas, lunch often comprises a fried dumpling or fritter and, on a good day a piece of fried chicken. Woefully insufficient to nourish young minds and attune our students to learn. And this is at the infant- and primary-school levels.
At the secondary and tertiary levels, Arizona, Red Bull, Boom, Full Throttle, Monster or Nitro predominate. For many, the closest they come to a balanced or appropriate meal is a patty. Cost cannot be the key determinant as these so-called energy drinks are not cheap. Again, these are non-wholesome and cannot be the basis for stimulating and maintaining brain activity. Among the side effects of overconsumption of sugar and caffeine-based beverages are impatience and irritability, not to mention attention deficit disorder.
The Missing Link
This author is also patently aware of the implications borne out in the recent publication detailing Professor Frederick Hickling. The thought that such high numbers within our society, including the political leadership class, may suffer from mental illness is sobering. I wonder what the longitudinal studies would reveal with respect to behavioural patterns during youth and the link to undernourishment and the absence of stable families. Perhaps no study is needed as the social malaise with which we grapple provides ample testimony if not scientific evidence. Yet here we all are as a people, living on an island. What shall our destiny be? How will we progress? Who will lead the developmental agenda? The Vision 2030 Plan for National Development ought to offer the answers to these questions. My concern with that document is that it needs to be championed and implemented. Plans and strategy documents are an important part of the development relay. This has been proven in other countries and right here in Jamaica.
Perhaps the easiest example to cite is the tourism sector. We started with advantages such as the beauty and mystique of our natural environment and the hard-working and welcoming Jamaican people. But had it not been for the Tourism Master Plan for Sustainable Development and a strict adherence to best practices, the resilience of that sector in the wake of the global recession would not have been achieved. We seem, however, not to have learnt anything from that example. For three years now there has been talk about the Vision 2030 Plan. There have not been any tangible milestones (other than the casual reference at a ribbon cutting or two) that suggest that it has been mainstreamed in the policy agenda of the administration. A developmental-policy agenda seems to be the missing link for this administration. More than three years on, there is still no real sense of cohesion or coherence. Our primary challenge, as we approach 50 years of Independence, is to coordinate the development of our youth so that they can be the personnel to achieve the targets set out in the Vision 2030 Plan. My wish for our 50th anniversary is, therefore, fewer festivities and less flash and more rigorous and earnest people-based development. Let 2012 be the year that marks our approach over the next 50 years.
Raymond Pryce is a radio broadcaster and chairman of the PNP Patriots. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com [2].