The government and the United Nations Development Programme yesterday signed an agreement for the disbursement of a US$6.96M grant to a good governance project which would benefit youth and women substantially.
Signing the deal in the Credentials Room of the Office of the President yesterday was Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh and the officer-in-charge of the UNDP Carlos Del Castillo.
The project, titled ‘En-hance Public Trust, Security and Inclusion (EPTSI)’ is a follow-up to the collaborative social cohesion project which ended in 2006. It will run from August 2008 to December 2011.
It is meant to empower youth and particularly women to participate fully and constructively in governance, and to serve as agents for peaceful change; enhance local capacity for participation in governance and enhance community security and safety; and strengthen the public discourse centred on inclusion and the constructive resolution of conflicts.
Singh in brief remarks at the signing said that several line ministries would be involved in the implementation of the project, including the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport; Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security; Ministry of Local Government and Reg-ional Development; Ministry of Home Affairs; Ministry of Education; Regional Demo-cratic Councils and other local democratic organs; non-governmental organisations and faith-based organisations.
Job skills
The sum of US$3.1 million would go towards youth and women empowerment for the development of skills and it is expected that some 600 young people would be trained in job skills as well as in starting small businesses.
The project would also entail community schemes as well as the re-integration into the society of young persons who would have served time in prison for breaking the law.
US$1.6M has been earmarked for enhancing community dialogue and social cohesion; and US$250,000 will go towards security and safety.
The reduction of risks will include activities which would aid the media in developing good media practices such as developing a professional code of conduct.
The remainder would include staffing and administrative matters.
In brief remarks, the UNDP official said that the expected outcomes include empowered individuals and groups, strengthened institutions and an enabling constitutional and human rights framework; social cohesion and peace-building approaches factored into national development frameworks and integrated into programmes at the national and local level to reduce real or perceived sentiments of insecurity.
Moreover due regard will be paid to gender, the promotion of human rights and the rule of law.
Del Castillo said that the previous social cohesion programme saw the building of national and local capacities for dialogue and for the reduction of inter-ethnic tension.
He said that an independent evaluation of the programme in October 2006 determined that the social cohesion programme contributed to the violence-free election held in 2006 and to an increase in the levels of public trust and confidence. The evaluation recommended that the gains needed to be consolidated through a deepening of social cohesion and trust building activities at the community level.
In this context, he said, the challenges of achieving the Millennium Development Goals and reducing poverty while managing the country’s ethnic and social diversity, along with growing threats to the security of citizens and communities, warrant the strengthening and expansion of ongoing efforts.
Greater inclusion
Del Castillo said that new efforts towards greater inclusion and constructive conversation among different stakeholders are in need of continued nurturing and consolidation.
Stating that Guyana’s movement from a low income country to a low middle income country will contribute to a more stable environment, he noted that interventions in the security and justice sectors with significant loans from the Inter-American Development Bank and a large grant from the British government through the Department For International Development will contribute in the same period towards the modernization of law and order.
He noted that under the youth empowerment and livelihood component of the project, youths would also be encouraged to take part in decision-making in their communities, organizations, regional and local government; while skills training programmes would be expanded to allow for the integration and participation of youth and women, especially single parents in developing small and cooperative enterprises in fragile communities with potentially high levels of tensions and insecurity.
There will also be cross-community sporting and cultural programmes, promoting of messages relating to inclusion and to undermine prejudice and cultural intolerance in these areas; and the training, recruitment and deployment of youth, especially women, and other community leaders as community level mobilisers and peace builders, to be eventually accredited to local government bodies as full-time mediators.
Enhancing community dialogue and social cohesion would be done by strengthening local government bodies, including RDCs, NDCs and Amerindian village councils in areas of tension and polarization; and assisting local government organs, communities and organisations in developing capacities for establishing common priorities and inputs for inter and intra-community dialogue and peace.
The media is targeted for reducing risks through enhanced communication and information sharing at the community/NDC levels as well focusing on inclusion and the constructive resolution of conflicts to convey positive experiences and messages on reconciliation and civic culture, among other areas.