The National Employment Programme (NEP) can be described as a great source of pride for Dominica, Minister for Employment Ian Douglas has said.
“The National Employment Programme (NEP) started off in 2013 and continues to be of tremendous pride to us in Dominica, for those who come to visit Dominica and even to those who come home on times like this, the Independence season,” Douglas said at a function recently.
He said that he has been speaking with Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, to get the youth on the island employed.
“I have been chatting with the Honorable Prime Minister to get the youth and the unemployed employed and working, to gain some experience so that they could be ready for the job market,” he stated.
Douglas stated that currently there are about 1,769 persons in various aspects of the National employment Programme (NEP) and they are all “gainfully employed in various areas.”
“You must have noticed a marked enhancement of the environment all over. Like the airports coming into Roseau, all the roadways are cleaned, the bushes are cut, the lawns on the side of the road are properly manicured in areas and flowers have been planted with the beautification teams put in place all over,” he said.
There have also been interns placed in the education sector to assist the students with learning, Douglas noted.
“Some interns have also been placed at some of the primary schools to help some of the slower children with tuition after school lessons,” he said.
It would be nice if Ian Douglas and his people could boast of an economy that is growing and adding needed taxes in the Government coffers. This would mean that the Country is moving and all are benefiting. I am baffled that they take so much pride in the NEP which brings absolutely no revenue to the Government. Economist are shaking their heads at this foolishess.
What about creating an environment that encourages business growth and development. Even the top government workers are fedup with what is going on – they know that the country is running on its rims. They discourage potential investors – telling them to wait 3 years before doing anything. When will wisdom prevail over foolishness!
Boy go clean your town
These guys are not the sharpest tools in the tool box, naturally the more businesses fail, the more unemployment rises as unemployment rises, the more the need to expand the NEP, surely this is hardly somthing the Minister of Employment should be bragging about…!!!
NEP = Never Ending Poverty.
I wanted to point out and error in the news item.. The word should be tutoring and tuition of children in the primary schools.
I endorse the program and I am very proud of the work that Mrs .Honore and her team are doing. However the interns need to understand their responsibilities to the workplaces that they are placed in and look for every opportunity to lean new skills . Some of the interns are too focused on the money and not look for ways to learn new things at the placement. On the other hand the organizations and institution should take the opportunity to mentor the interns not only in job skills but also personal development. I believe that this is a great program and an wonderful opportunity to equip our young people and to make an impact in the lives of young people .
A source of pride only for who you want. Two young men from Marigot were deprived from being employed by the NEP because Mr. DOUGLAS said get from other villages. He is not employing from Marigot.
This is not a national program. It is the LEP. Labour enslavement program. It was not developed through Parliament consensus and hastily implemented overnight with promised funding from a foreign Gov. You saying it’s national pride does not make it that. Ian get a life and go find a way to develop the resources RBD left you guys. That would do you and Dominica way better.
There is a similar make-work program in Trinidad called Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP). This was started for the same reason: to provide employment and training for people who would otherwise have difficulty in gaining employment.
That program has cost the government of Trinidad and Tobago billions of dollars and is a total unmitigated disaster. Over the years it has been used as a political tool to grease the wheels of their supporters (whoever is in power) and is cauldron of corruption.
The worse part is, the people who are employed under this program have learned that they can get a paycheque without having to do much to earn it. So that has distorted the economy in the private sector.
I have businessmen friends in Trinidad who tell me they cannot compete for labor when they are trying to hire lower skilled people. Why would they want to work to earn when they can earn without working.