Amid continuing concerns about the government’s management of the New Opportunity Corps (NOC), security of the facility is to be further beefed up.
In an advertisement in yesterday’s Guyana Chronicle, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport is seeking bids for the supply and installation of a day/night security camera system at the NOC at Onderneeming. The engineer’s estimate for this is $13,792,460. The same advertisement also seeks the installation of security lights and an electrical upgrade for the NOC. The engineer’s estimate here is $9.7M. Bids for these are to be opened tomorrow at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board.
Prior to this, the government had announced its intentions to go ahead with a $19.6M confinement area for youths of the NOC.
Based on information made available to Stabroek News, the confinement building will have what are being described as eight “holding cells” 9 ft. by 12 ft. The building will also have two recreation rooms, a group counselling room, an individual counselling room, a storage room and two staff rooms.
“They are building prison-type cells for these youths and that is not one of the mandates of the NOC …this solitary confinement area exposes children from as young as 14 to a hardcore prison life and it will do nothing but destroy them psychologically. That is research proven,” A Partnership for National Unity’s Parliamentarian and youth advocate Christopher Jones had told Stabroek News.
The ministry’s handling of the NOC has come under the spotlight after several years of unrest. Earlier this year, several girls complained about abuse at the hands of staffers and though the police had said that charges were likely against four of the staffers as a result, the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions has since advised the police that there are no grounds to charge.
Given the ongoing problems at the NOC, some critics have called for its removal from under the Ministry of Youth.
