Lewis says Rural West youth want work, not hand-outs, and Job Programme provides only minimum wage and little opportunity
Young people in St. John’s Rural West are tired of the Antigua Labour Party’s hand-out mentality, says Senator Richard Lewis, the United Progressive Party (UPP) Candidate, and so the Party will work to create meaningful jobs for them and other youth, once elected.
Lewis notes that the Browne Administration is uncaring and has not put serious mechanisms in place to assist young people. As a result, quite a number of the constituency’s youth – both males and females – have approached him, seeking employment, he says.
While a number of young people have been packed onto the rolls of the Job Programme, Lewis says they are earning minimum wage and often have no opportunity to further develop themselves.
Meanwhile, the Candidate says he has been reaching out to the Rural West youth. He says it is widely known that young people tend not to get involved in the political process; and although some will vote on their own, others will want to be incentivized to cast their ballots.
Accordingly, Lewis says the ventures he undertakes are usually community grounded – rather than political, since that can be a turn-off for some young people.
However, Lewis says, there is still a lot of work to be done to get young people to willingly become part of the political process, and they have to be reached on their level.