THE country's youth, especially males in the 14 to 29 age group, are to come up for special treatment in the first budget of a Jamaica Labour Party Government in 20 years.

Governor General Sir Kenneth Hall, making the disclosure while delivering the 2008-2009 Budget Speech at Gordon House in Kingston yesterday, said the allotment would be aimed specifically at young males "whose academic underperformance and social dysfunctionality require urgent attention".

The governor general said part of the thrust would be the revitalisation of youth clubs and uniformed groups, special reorientation and training programmes, support for the establishment of a youth business trust and expansion of the network of youth information centres.

In the meantime, the government also intends to "broaden the safety net for the very poor and most vulnerable". Professor Hall said provision would also be made in the new budget to facilitate this.

Sources told the Observer that the safety net expansion, or social intervention programme, would be one of the major new projects to be introduced this year by the government to assist just under 130,000 persons who are living below the poverty line, but are not on the PATH programme.

The governor general said that the percentage of the population below or near the poverty line was a source of great concern to the government, especially given the escalation in the prices of commodities.

He said there would be a "fresh strategic approach and direction for child protection services in Jamaica for the 2008/09 fiscal year".

Said Sir Kenneth: "At the heart of this approach is improved capacity to ensure efficient and effective decision making about the nature and types of services needed by individual clients, the allocation of resources to meet these needs at the level of the family unit and the community and emphasis on family-based programming," the governor general said.

The fear factor

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS