Senator Newby Promises Youth Value for Money

KINGSTON — Newly promoted Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (MYSC), Senator, the Hon Warren Newby, is full of confidence that the Ministry will be able to play the leading role in fulfilling the Government's vision for Jamaican youth.

In his inaugural speech at King’s House on Sunday, the Prime Minister, the Hon. Andrew Holness, urged Jamaicans to “let us build a society where our youth can be optimistic about their future."

Senator Newby believes the Prime Minister’s vision is realistic, having spent the past four years acquainting himself with the youth portfolio of the Ministry headed by the Hon Olivia "Babsy" Grange.

"We have already completed work on a number of policy and administrative issues, which will form the basis of our efforts to meet this challenge,” he told JIS News.

“In addition, we are seeking to streamline the bureaucracy, to enable the agencies involved with youth development to work, in a seamless way, to ensure success, and with next month (November) being Youth Month, we will begin to roll out some of the programmes,” he said.

HE believes that his first four years at the Ministry has prepared him for the task, especially in light of the very good relationship existing between him and Miss Grange.

Senator Newby, like Prime Minister Holness, is one of the “young guns” of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), graduating from the presidency of the party’s strident young professionals body, Generation 2000 (G2K), into the position of Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry, a position he held from 2007 up to the transition of the leadership of the Government from former Prime Minister Bruce Golding to Mr. Holness, on Sunday.

The mild mannered, articulate junior minister was sworn in as a Senator at the age of 30, after the JLP’s victory in 2007, becoming the youngest member of the Senate and the Government.

From then, he indicated that his maxim was ensuring that the Ministry gets “the maximum value for every dollar spent”. He still maintains that position, and believes that by streamlining youth the agencies, the ministry will be in a better position to ensure value for money.              

He says that the Ministry will be targeting so-called “unattached youths” as a priority, in an effort to train them for the job market, as well as for their own entrepreneurial projects.

A graduate of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Senator Newby is trained in public administration and economics.

By Balford Henry, JIS Reporter & Editor