Former President and Leader of People’s National Congress (PNC) David Granger on his recent visit to the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region (No.2) said that it is the community’s duty to support education and employment opportunities for young people.
Granger said that the current Government’s mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic had triggered a surge in deaths and elevated the rates of infection in hinterland and rural regions. It had also resulted in a high level of unemployment among young people and, inevitably, non-attendance at school and non-adoption of distance-learning technologies.
Granger reminded villagers that the Coalition Government’s Public Education Transportation Service (PETS), known popularly as the ‘5Bs’ programme, which provided free transportation to schoolchildren was started in Region Two. The first ever free school boat was launched in the Pomeroon River.
The Party’s Leader, in keeping with his commitment to improve access to education and attendance at school by young people, presented two bicycles to students who performed well at the recent National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examinations. Comwel Lewis of Dartmouth Village secured a place at the Anna Regina Multilateral School while Grace Brown of Queenstown Village will attend President’s College.
The former President urged villagers to augment farm production in their Region which was heavily reliant on agriculture for export. He announced that the PNC had established an internal agency for micro-enterprise which will provide equipment, finance, seeds and tools to support village improvement plans. He assured villagers that agriculture and agro-processing were lucrative pathways to overcome the current unemployment crisis.
Granger congratulated Shurwayne Forbes Kennedy Holder, one of the Coalition’s young cohort of MPs, on his recent election to the National Assembly. He also thanked supporters for their participation at the recent General and Regional Elections and their election as members to the Regional Democratic Council.
The PNC leader was accompanied by PNC General Secretary Amna Ally and Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon on the ongoing countrywide village outreach programme.
