MONTEGO BAY, St James – The Government of Jamaica has signed a multi-million dollar contract with Caribbean Electric Company Limited for the establishment of a Youth Information Centre (YIC) in St James.

The signing took place on June 27, between officials of the Education Ministry and Caribbean Electric at the ministry’s Heroes Circle offices. The contract, valued at $4.95-million, forms part of the government’s move to implement the flagship youth development programme, Operation Phoenix, which was launched by Prime Minister PJ Patterson in July 2003.

Ohene Blake, director of the National Centre for Youth Development that has responsibility for Operation Phoenix, said the establishment of the St James centre would be the fourth of its kind in the island. Its establishment follows an impact assessment carried out on the St Mary and Portmore centres by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). That assessment, according to Blake, showed that between July 2003 and April 2005 approximately 17,319 people had used the Portmore YIC, while some 6,382 had utilised the St Mary facility since its November 2003 establishment.

Construction on the St James facility will begin in another three weeks. On completion in September, it will also serve Hanover and Trelawny as the focal point for the dissemination of information on youth issues and programmes, including educational training opportunities and information on HIV/AIDS. It will also provide free Internet access and equipment like fax and photocopying machines.