“The Cadet Corps is intended to instil discipline in young men” – Hurst
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By Robert Andre Emmanuel
The Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, Lionel Hurst, has revealed that the government has shelved plans to create a National Youth Service Corps to cater to youth who engage in criminal activities.
Last year, the government announced plans to establish such a body – different from the Antigua and Barbuda National Cadet Corps—that would receive training from the country’s Defence Force.
The government had held discussions with Lieutenant Colonel Ivor Walker regarding the National Youth Service Corps, an idea which was formulated from a paper Walker wrote in 2005.
However, Hurst, during Thursday’s post Cabinet press briefing, told reporters that the idea had been shelved by Defence Force officials who argued that having such a group close to the Antigua and Barbuda National Cadet Corps or even part of that group may send the wrong message.
“The military has advised that one of the dangers of sending recalcitrant youth to join the Cadet Corps is that the Cadet Corps might be perceived as being a place where “bad” boys get sent off to join,” Hurst said.
“But the Cadet Corps is not intended to be a place for bad boys, but rather to help instil discipline in our young men. So, there is this very fine divide between having the Cadet Corps represent a training ground for all those who are interested, and having it as a place where those who have committed minor crimes be compelled to join,” he said.
Meanwhile, to confront the issue of youth violence among young people, the government is now pivoting its efforts towards the development of sports clubs throughout the island through revenue from the Citizenship by Investment Programme.
The Cabinet revealed those plans yesterday and Hurst said details on overall funding would be ironed out.
He added that the plan would target the most heavily populated areas of Antigua.
“Some of the neighbourhoods that are targeted first … like Greenbay, Gray’s Farm, Point, and Villa, and so on, where … every effort will be made to ensure that as many opportunities for positive growth and positive participation can take place,” Hurst said.
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