Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter

( L - R ) Meeks, Price

THE PEOPLE'S National Party Youth Organisation (PNPYO) has disparaged a recommendation in the Meeks' Report that the organisation be disbanded.

The report was commissioned by the PNP after it lost the September 3, 2007, General Election to the Jamaica Labour Party.

"We deem that recommendation baseless ... without merit," Leo Osbourne, general secretary of the PNPYO, told The Gleaner yesterday.

The Meeks Report reads: "The present bifurcation (division) of the PNPYO and Patriots needs to be rethought. Perhaps the party needs to abandon both and establish new-look youth organisations with fresh credentials and a clean break with the recent past."

The report, prepared by University of the West Indies professor Brian Meeks and his team, continues:

"The party might wish to consider establishing a PNP students' association specifically to focus on the recruitment and mobilisation of tertiary-level students; and a PNP young professionals Association to focus on the recruitment and mobilisation of young professionals and entrepreneurs," the reported recommended.

Disturbing report

But Osbourne said the organisation is "disturbed" about the recommendation and this will be one of the main items on a NEC meeting on the weekend. The other item on the agenda is for the NEC to settle on a date for the holding of elections within the organisation.

As part of its methodology, the Meeks committee sought to interview affiliates of the PNP in a bid to determine the factors that contributed to the party's 28-32 loss in the contest for the 60-seat Parliament.

The report said that despite former PNPYO president Andrew Okola agreeing to meet with the appraisal committee, he did not show up for the meeting. Mr. Osbourne, however, said that being general secretary all communications go though him and no request was made of the PNPYO.

"For an appraisal to be done it means that you need to speak to the relevant persons from the organisation," Osbourne said.

Osbourne is convinced that the PNPYO would have done a better job if it had better support from the parent body.

"We did the maximum we could without the maximum assistance from the party, we were left alone and we were starved of resources. The party knew about it and nothing was done. We have seen results in what we have done," Osbourne said.

Meanwhile, Raymond Price, chairman of the Patriots, the professional arm of the party, said that the party might have suffered a big loss had it not been for the organisation which he heads.

"Had we not re-doubled our efforts and focussed on the areas of activities that we were given to focus on, the results would have been different," Mr. Price told The Gleaner.

"It has not been proven that we did not bring out more youth votes than the Jamaica Labour Party," Mr. Price said.

Mr. Price added that Patriots was a caucus and not a mass mobilisation arm and cannot be compared to the JLP's affiliate Generation 2000 (G2K).

"Our role to date has seen positive contribution to the party and our role will continue to see that," Mr. Price said.

"I accept that there is work to be done and there are improvements that must be accomplished."

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com