The buzz about the mass employment programme, launched to revolutionise the job market for aspiring young Bahamians has now turned into anger for some waiting for their pay.
An inside source at the Summer Youth Experience Programme told The Tribune that Youth Minister Neville Wisdom announced twice that $1.8 million was allocated by government to defray the cost of youth programmes.
According to Judith Hepburn, an adult counsellor for the camp at CR Walker High School, it has been four days since she and others were promised their pay at the end of the programme. However, she said, some workers were paid last Friday.
The programme, which comes under the Urban Renewal project, started on July 20. It was held daily at Claridge Primary, CR Walker High, Sandilands, Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, and Kendal GL `Isaacs Gym.
Mrs Hepburn said that about 2,000 students were hired, in addition to teachers who were taken on to supervise the teen students.
“This is their first year doing it, and they don’t want the truth to be known so that they can bring it off on their own for everyone to give them credit,” she said.
“But this is not important right now because high-schoolers who participated need their monies for school, and college students need to be paid to take care of their tuition,” she said.
Mrs Hepburn suggested that government could not have allocated $1.8 million for the programme as announced by Minister Wisdom or else there would have been no difficulty in paying the workers.
She said the programme is in its third year. For the two previous years it was spearheaded by the Ministry of Youth and Culture.
“Now it is under the Ministry of Youth and Housing, but Housing takes a majority of the load since the Prime Minister switched up the Ministries in cabinet.
“Some of the student workers went down to the Ministry yesterday to get their monies, but Oral LaFleur, the director of the programme, was not there.”
Mrs Hepburn said she called Mr LaFleur once on the matter, but “he didn’t really give an answer, and kept passing me on to other people.”
She explained that other workers who participated in the programme, have made numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact Mr LaFleur.
“When I called, I didn’t get through, and when I tried again they said no one was in the office to speak with me. I was told that most of the other workers had already made plans to go away before the programme ended.”
By REUBEN SHEARER, The Tribune
