Small slams political puppets

Chairman of the National Youth Council, Ryan Small, is scoffing at criticisms levelled against himself and his peers by the leadership of Jamaica Labour Party affiliate Generation 2000 (G2K).

At the same time, Small claimed the nation's political youth organisations were "mere puppets" and G2K President Delano Seiveright should focus his attention on pushing the Government to address critical needs.

In a column published in yesterday's Sunday Gleaner, Seiveright had hit back at some of the country's youth leaders over their recent call for the youth portfolio to be shifted to the education ministry, dismissing the proposal as unfounded.

Speaking during a Gleaner Editors' Forum a little more than two weeks ago, a group of youth leaders agreed that the youth portfolio should be removed from incumbent minister, Olivia Grange, due to a lack of proper leadership.

The suggestion ignited a firestorm with Senator Warren Newby, parlimentary secretary in the youth ministry, taking responsibility for the shortcomings and having a closed-door meeting with the leaders.

Yesterday, Seiveright not only dismissed the call as mere exaggeration, but alluded to what he claims is the propensity for politics to "slip into the halls of civil-society youth organisations".

Personal attack

The G2K president noted that while there should be no issue with a civil-society youth leader being involved with any political party, the views expressed by youth leaders must be non-partisan.

Yesterday, Small, who was among the youth leaders who participated in the Editors' Forum, described Seiveright's article as an indirect attack on him for the comments made two weeks ago.

"I know it is an attack on me, but I will treat it as an oversight. I do not wish to get in any tracing match with Mr Seiveright, as youth development must be placed at the forefront," Small said.

"The political youth organisations are mere puppets and what (Seiveright) needs to do is lobby the Government on our behalf. He needs to take some of the advice that he is dishing out as he is not representing well the young people of this country."