Youths must get more involved in local governance, says Boswell

WESTERN BUREAU:

Youth advocate Sujae Boswell, a member of the Constitutional Reform Committee, which is seeking to pave the way for Jamaica to become a republic, says that special emphasis must be placed on getting young people more involved in the discussion on national governance.

Boswell outlined his position during Wednesday’s town hall meeting at the Montego Bay Cultural Centre in St James, in the first phase of the constitutional reform process, which will decide how the country will be governed when Jamaica cut ties with the British monarchy.

“One of the things I am commonly hearing is, ‘a so di thing set,’ because many young people have lost trust in the processes, and you cannot wrong them for it,” said Boswell.

“We will be the ones who have to lead and live in a society based on what we decide today, and young people make up the majority of the population now, so we have to be deliberate in how we engage them,” he said.

“As we engage forward in society, we cannot do it without young people. There are those who want information, and there are those who want to be engaged and who want to give their suggestions, but it has to be a collective will,” added Boswell.

MORE CREATIVE STRATEGIES

He also suggested that additional meetings should be held within communities to sensitize residents on the subject.

“This first official town hall consultation cannot and will not be the last, but this cannot be the only consultation that happens in St James. We have to go into the communities and engage the community members because we the committee members are not singular voices,” stated Boswell. “We want to hear and to engage, because it is a Jamaican constitution, and in ‘Jamaicanising’ it, there cannot be any elitism in the process.”

In responding to Boswell, St James-based Justice of the Peace Rushane McKenzie suggested that hands-on strategies such as the resurrection of civics in schools should be employed to get youths to understand their role in local governance.

“I think we need to come up with more creative strategies to engage youth, so a debate competition and an essay competition would be very much appreciated. Let them write letters to the committee so it gives them the opportunity to feel as though they are being heard,” said McKenzie.

“There are some schools that don’t teach civics, so please bring it back, because if kids understood what was going on, they would be part of this discussion this afternoon,” added McKenzie.

The Constitutional Reform Committee, which was named by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on March 22 this year, is expected to guide the three-part constitutional reform process, which includes placing focus on the repatriation of the constitution, abolition of the constitutional monarchy, and establishment of republican status.