A complex issue

Former prime minister Samir Rifai has a distinguished record of championing the rights and goals of the youth for some time now and most recently in his capacity as a senator reiterated his call for the recreating the now defunct Ministry of Youth during the Senate’s recent deliberation of the national budget.

His reasons for his proposal include the need to put up a more concerted effort to mobilise the youth, find employment for them and integrate them into society in a more positive and constructive manner.

In other words, put them on the right track!

As is, there is only the Higher Council for Youth operating on a budget of about JD25 million.

I respectfully take issue with Senator Rifai on this issue, as none, or most, of the reasons given for his initiative to establish a special ministry for the youth are borne out.

In other words, they do not necessarily justify the creation of another bureaucracy at a time when the country is inundated with bureaucracies that only add burdens to the national budget.

For starters, Jordan is not the only country that has a “youth problem”: most countries have similar concerns.

Youth-related issues are by and large a feature of most economies, developed, emerging or developing, and their existence does not really justify the establishment of a special ministry.

If we take for example the issue of unemployment, which is a very common problem in all nations, this concern can be better discussed and dealt with by existing ministries, such as the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Social Welfare.

Why create another ministry for something that can be dealt with by existing governmental institutions with proper guidance, coordination and political will?

The reintegration of the youth into the society in a positive manner can also be dealt with by existing national institutions, provided that there is proper guidance from the executive branch of government.

In Jordan’s situation, there is always the fear that the youth may be drawn to extremism and radicalism, especially when this is happening on large scale in the region and elsewhere in the world.

Again, this concern needs not be addressed by one particular ministry; the approach to it must be holistic, requiring coordinated effort of several key ministries.

The issues pertaining to the youth are not separable from the issues related to the entire Jordanian society. The age may set a group apart, but problems usually affect an entire society, not a segment of it only.

Dealing with the youth as a separate subject would not do it justice and may simplify the multi-dimensional nature of issues.

Besides, there is already the Higher Council for the Youth, and I wonder if we really need such a bureaucracy that cost the country about JD25 million annually.

The answer to the youth problems is a need to cover education, employment, cultural values and proper religious orientation based on moderation to reflect the true spirit of Islam.

I doubt that a minister or a Ministry of Youth can do all that on its own.