This debate competition from the National Police College of Jamaica explores whether mandatory military or national service should be applied to unemployed youth. The proposition argues that such service provides unemployed youth with skills, discipline, and experience, reducing vulnerability to crime and building national capacity. The opposition counters that unemployment is an economic reality, not a personal failure, and that mandatory service punishes individuals for circumstances beyond their control while failing to solve structural employment issues. The debate demonstrates how critical thinking, public speaking, and analytical reasoning are essential skills for future law enforcement officers, preparing them to engage effectively with communities and address complex societal challenges.
National Police College Of Jamaica-FIPT Debate Finals for Batch 167
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Mr. Merrick Watson, JP, Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of training and the director of the National Police College of Jamaica. Mrs. Malia Jones Williams of the Faculty of Criminal Investigation and Training.
Mr. Lawrence Oggo, Superintendent of Police and Commandant in charge of the faculty of initial and probationary training.
Mr. Damian Donaldson, Deputy Superintendent of Police and Deputy Commandant of the Twicknham Park Training Campus.
Miss Jolene Stewart of the Faculty of Leadership and Professional Development, Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Miss Tanishia Johnson, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Principal of the Cadet Academy, other members of the Officer Corps of the Jamaica Constabularary Force, Detective Sergeant Debian McClean Chin or Quality Assurance Officer, Twicknham Park Training Campus, esteemed adjudicators from the Jamaican Association of Debating and Empowerment, Jade Limited.
Our very own Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr. Fletcher Grayson, who this evening joins us as an esteemed adjudicator.
Miss Leon Smith, debate enthusiast, and argumentative thinker.
instructors of the National Police College of Jamaica, especially those of the home faculty for this debate competition, the faculty of initial and probationary training, members of our technical and support staff, property management and logistics department as well as information technology department, our CCN lison officer, other guests of the wider JC F other instructors who are present here this evening.
Those joining us on our various social media platforms.
Trainees of batch 167 and 168.
A pleasant evening to you all.
A pleasant evening to you all.
That sounds a little bit better. I am Latana Graham. I'm a sergeant of police attached to the faculty of leadership and professional development, specifically the language and communication department. And it is indeed a distinct pleasure to serve this evening as your moderator for this faculty of initial and probationary training debate batch 167 competition finale.
I extend to you a heartfelt welcome to yet another staging of the faculty of initial and probationary training debate competition.
On this occasion we profoundly feature batch 167, specifically squad two and squad six.
Let's hear it for them this evening.
We believe they are indeed poised to face off in what promises to be a compelling contest of showmanship, passion, intellect, wit, conviction, and public speaking prowess.
I invite at this time for the teams to stand. Squad two, stand and let's give them a round of applause.
Thank you, squad two.
Squad six, stand and let's give them a round of applause.
Thank you so much. Squad six. And just before I invite to you may be seated.
Just before I invite to the lectern to do the opening purr, I ask that he forgives me for the oversight or deputy superintendent of police, Mr. Rodney Matthews. Welcome to you as well, sir.
Thank you so much for being here.
At this time, I ask Trainee Constable Charles Barracks to come with the opening purr. I ask that while he's coming, we stand.
Our righteous and heavenly father, as we gather here in your presence, Lord, you're the king of kings. You're the lord of lord. Lord, I want to thank you for waking us this morning. I want to thank you for life. I want to thank you for all that you have done.
I want to thank you for bringing us this far. Lord, I want to thank you for watching some of our life. Lord, as we come to the final of our debating competition, Lord, as to cover both team, Lord, make the best team that could more organized and more prepared win. Lord, as to cover life that cover us through this journey, Lord, as we take control of this night, in your mighty name I pray. Amen.
Ladies and gentlemen, this evening's exercise and this competition collectively seek to fulfill the organization's mandate of building the capacity of serving members to use their critical thinking skills, emotional intelligence, excellence in public speaking and meaningful team teamwork among themselves as trainees. Today's finalists that we see here on the platform have demonstrated dedication, discipline, the ability to articulate and defend their positions with confidence over a series of matches leading to today. Let's give them a round of applause.
Now, as they take the stage, we anticipate a spirited exchange of ideas that will challenge perspectives, showcase analytical reasoning, and exemplify the high standards of professionalism and communication expected of future law enforcement officers.
to our debaters or judges or invited guests, members of different faculties or supporters who are online. Thank you for joining us this evening. We trust that this finale will be both intellectually stimulating and thoroughly enjoyable. And of course, may the best team win. Let us hear it for squad two.
And let us hear it for squad six.
Indeed. Indeed. The temperature check seem as if it's going well. Now, of course, for us to have a debate, there must be a motion for them to debate. And so, I'll be sharing the motion for those of us who are unaware this evening.
The motion.
Judges, are you ready?
Be it resolved that mandatory, military and national service should be applied to unemployed youth.
I'll share again. Be it resolved that mandatory military or national service should be applied to unemployed youth.
Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I am sure we have come for the finale and so I will not hold you any longer. So I'll go right ahead. I'll inv I'll actually introduce to you our chief adjudicator and he will allow his panel to introduce themselves. After that, he will also give us the rules for the debate and we'll go right into our evening's proceedings. Is that okay with us? All right. So, our chief adjudicator this evening, he's from Jade Limited. He's a young, vibrant, educated son of the soil who is also an internationally acclaimed debater and mentor in the field.
Having recently just concluded a debate competition in Africa, he works closely with the founder of Jade and together they aim to build a country of debaters which of course was the reason that Jade was started as a movement in the first place along with his youthful exuberance. And I'm sure once he addresses you, you will understand youthful along with his youthful exuberance. He has a wealth of experience and is extremely gifted at what he does. And so without further ado, Mr. Joshua Atkins, our chief adjudicator for this evening.
Uh, thank you for the flattering words.
Uh, good afternoon everyone.
My name is Joshua Atkins. I'll be your chief adjudicator for this match. I'll invite my panelists to introduce themselves before I get into the meat of the matter.
Good afternoon everyone. My name is Alik Wilson. I'll be serving as your wing panelist today and I'm looking forward to seeing a very riveting debate.
>> Good afternoon everyone. My name is Fletcher Grayson. I am a deputy superintendent of police um attached to the National Police College of Jamaica specifically the faculty of leadership and professional development. And I hope that everyone is ready to provide some cogent arguments and provide some empirical data and evidence and not just to speak anecdotally. Thank you.
>> Good afternoon everybody. I'm Solomon Kilburn and I'll be serving as one of the wing adjudicators today. I had the exciting experience of judging one of the third matches and it was indeed an interesting debate. So I expect nothing less tonight. Good luck to the two squads.
Good afternoon every evening everyone.
Leon Smith is the name, marketing and communications manager at the Jamaica Police Corp Credit Union. I know what you guys can do. I'm just waiting to see what will happen. So good luck.
>> All right. And of course we have our esteemed timekeeper. The next voice you will hear will be our chief adjudicator again. He'll go through the rules for this evening's proceedings. And then of course it will be on to what we believe will be a ding-dong battle. Until next you hear me. Do enjoy the rest of your evening.
So let's discuss how the debate will flow. So for both speakers, the first speakers on either side have seven minutes to deliver their speeches. The second speakers on either side have six minutes to deliver their speeches. And then the final speaker, the reply speaker has has five minutes to deliver their reply speech. Now we have points of information uh within uh this sort of debating format. Uh points of information can only be asked during the first and second speaker speeches on either side which means the third speaker cannot accept nor deny a point of information. Right? There's rules that prevent them from engaging with one in the first place. Uh so in respect to where the time period starts uh in which the point of information is allowed uh those are the first minute uh and it ends at the last minute. So at the point at which you hear the ding of the bell right that signals that you have uh entered the period in which you can take points of information and when you hear that means no more points of information can be asked at the point at which you've consumed the the entirety of uh the time allotted for your speeches.
You'll hear two dings of the bell, right? Two dings, right? And then at the point at which we give you your 15 seconds to wrap up, you'll hear a continuous dinging of the bell which signals you are to yield the floor. So there are there is to be no badgering that is to say asking too much points of information in a short period of time.
And at the point at which we get to the crossexamination, we'll explain a little more how that will work. So I invite the prime minister now to take the stand and I'm looking forward to a brilliant debate filled with intellectual rigor here. Here here Honorable speakers, esteemed adjudicators, worthy opponents, members of the proposition, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. Nelson, I am training conible number 27239, trainy conible detailer.
Nelson Mandela once said, "The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow."
Honorable speaker, if you truly believe that, then we must ask, what are we doing today to prepare them? Imagine a young Jamaican with talent, ambition, and desire to succeed. They leave school hopeful, submit application after application only to hear the same response. No vacancies, no job, no experience, no opportunity. So I asked this house, what happens when a generation is willing to contribute but is given no pathway to do so. This debate debate is not simply about whether service should be mandatory. It is about whether we leave our young people disconnected from opportunity or equip them with the skills, discipline and experience to build a better future.
For these reasons, I proudly rise as the prime minister of the proposition to affirm the motion. Be it resolved that mandatory military or national service should apply to unemployed youth.
Honorable speaker, before presenting our case, let me define the key terms of today's motion. Mandatory means required by law or government policy subjected to reasonable exemptions. Military service refers to structured services within the Jamaica Defense Force where eligible participants receive training in national defense discipline, emergency response, leadership, and civic responsibilities.
National service refers to structured civilian service through government approved programs in areas such as disaster preparedness, education, healthcare support, environmental protection, infrastructure, and community development. Unemployed youths refer to Jamaicans between the ages of 15 and 24 who are willing and able to work but are currently unemployed. We adopt this definition because it aligns with the age group used by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica when reporting youth unemployment. Our model is straightforward. Eligible unemployed youths will complete a mandatory period of 12 months of either military or civilian national service depending on their age, legal eligibility, suitability, and national needs. Those who are not legally eligible for military service will compete civily and national service instead. A 12 month a 12-month program providing sufficient time to develop meaningful skills, gain valuable work experience, and make a lasting contribution to the nation. This policy is not a punishment. It is preparation. Our case rest on one simple principle. National service transforms unttop potential into national progress.
We will prove this in three ways. First, it creates employable citizens. Second, it reduces vulnerability to crime.
Third, it builds a stronger Jamaica.
Honorable speaker, every great nations begin by in investing in its people.
Many young people are unemployed not because they lack ambition, but because they lack the experience employers demand. How can they gain experience if no one gives them the opportunity?
National service answers that question.
It provides workplace experience, discipline, teamwork, leadership, communication, and responsibility. the very qualities employers seek. According to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica's October 2024 Labor Force survey, approximately 21,600 Jamaicans aged 15 to 24 were unemployed, while 22.2% of youth were not in employment, education, or training. These are not just statistics. These represent thousands of talented Jamaicans waiting for an opportunity. Whether assisting in disaster response, supporting schools, improving communities, or serving in public institutions, participants gain practical experience and transferable skills that employers value. National service changes a young person's reality from I have no experience to I have skills and experience to contribute.
This policy is not a punishment for unemployment. It is an investment in employability. National service can be can be the bridge between unemployment and employment. Honorable speaker, employment gives young people a future, but opportunity does something even greater. It protects that future from those who seek to exploit hopelessness.
That brings me to my second argument.
National service reduces vulnerability to crime. The proposition is not saying unemployment creates criminals. That would be unfair and untrue. We are saying that prolong unemployment would opportunity or purpose create vulnerabilities that criminal organizations exploit. The inter the International Monetary Fund has observed that across the Caribbean, limited economic opportunities increase young people's vulnerability to criminal recruitment. The na the United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime also report that around 70% of Jamaican homicide in 2021 were linked to gang or organized crime. If gangs are competing for the future of young people, then the government must compete to provide legitimate opportunities instead.
Every young Jamaican equipped with skills, discipline, and purpose is one less person left vulnerable to criminal recruitment. Creating employable citizens, individuals, protecting vulnerable youth strengthens communities. But our vision goes further. It is also transform. It also transforms and strengthens Jamaica.
Honorable speaker, national service does not prepare young people for employment.
National service, sorry, national service does more than prepare prepare young people for employment. It prepares them to serve their country.
Participants receive training in first aid, disaster response, leadership, teamwork, and civic responsibility.
Skills strengthening communities during national emergencies. Honorable speaker, we are not proposing an untested idea.
Countries around the world have demonstrated value of mandatory national service. One such country is Singapore, where military service has been compulsive for decades. While the while its primary purpose is national defense, Singapore has also recognized that national service develop valuable workplace skills and character beyond military service. A national survey conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies found that seven in 10 Singaporeans believe national service develops valuable employment skills while nearly 9 in 10 believe it builds discipline and character. This is the vision we offer Jamaica. Imagine thousands of young Jamaicans ready to assist during disaster, support vulnerability communities, and strengthening their country. National service is not only about serving Jamaica. It's about preparing Jamaicans to build Jamaica. The opposition may argue that mandatory national service limits freedom, but rights have always existed alongside responsibilities. We obey laws. We pay taxes because strong societies require strong and shared responsibilities. National service is no different. They may also call it forced labor. It is not. Forced labor exploits people. National service develops people. So I asked this opposition, what freedom exists for a young person with no skills, no experience, and no pathway forward? Freedom without opportunity is an empty promise. Our policy helps build that opportunity. This debate comes down to one simple question. What will Jamaica do with the people? The potential of its young people. Will we ignore it or will we invest in it? Our answer is clear. Today we choose opportunity over idleness, discipline over despair, and empowerment over dependency. There is an old saying, if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. Honorable speaker, this is exactly what this motion seeks to do. Mandatory military or national service is not about creating dependence on the government.
It is also about equipping unemployed young people with skills, discipline, work ethic, and experience they need to become self-reliant. Because unemployment youths are not Jamaica's burden. They are Jamaica's greatest untapped resources. I thank you.
We thank the prime minister for that fine speech. We invite the leader of the opposition to the likewise, Mr. Speaker, honorable judges, timekeeper, worthy opponents. Ladies and gentlemen, imagine graduating from school full of ambition, submitting dozens of job applications, attending interviews, and still receiving rejection after rejection, not because you lack determination, but because there are simply not enough jobs. Now, imagine that instead of f helping you find employment, your government says because you are unemployed, you no longer have a choice. you must serve.
Ladies and gentlemen, unemployment is not a crime. It is not a moral failure.
It is an economic reality that affects millions of hardworking young people across the world. Yet, today's motion seeks to punish unemployment with compulsory service. The opposition firmly rejects this motion. And before presenting our case, I will say what our burden is. Our burden today is simple.
to prove that forcing unemployed youths into military or national service is unfair, ineffective, economically unsound, and inconsistent with the principles of a free democratic society.
Our team will show why this mandates makes no sense by proving that this policy punishes people for circumstances beyond their control and that mandatory service does not solve unemployment. It merely hides it. The first and most fundamental flaw in this motion is that it assumes every unemployed youth is at fault. But the evidence says otherwise.
The International Labor Organization reports that global youth unemployment remains at around 13% with approximately 65 million young people unemployed worldwide. Even more importantly, young people are nearly three times more likely to be unemployed than adults. Now this proves that unemployment is often a result of labor market failures and not individual failure. Governments cannot create an economic problem and then punish citizens for experiencing it. Ask yourselves this. If two 18year-olds graduate from the same school with the same qualifications and one happens to find work while the other cannot because no vacancies exist. Why should only one lose the freedom to choose how they spend the next year of their life or more? That is not equality. That is discrimination based solely on employment status. Mr. Speaker, the proposition is effectively saying that unemployment should trigger compulsory government control over an individual's life and choices. We reject that principle completely. In every democratic society, rights should never depend on whether you currently have a job. Now, suppose Jamaica has 40,000 unemployed youths. The government forces 20,000 of them into compulsory service.
On paper, unemployment appears lower.
But what happens after those young people finish their service if the economy has not created 20,000 permanent civilian jobs? Many will simply return to being unemployed. Nothing has been solved. The problem has merely been postponed.
Mr. Speaker, countries with mandatory military service provide clear evidence of this reality. Consider Greece, where military service is compulsory for men.
Despite decades of conscription, youth unemployment has remained among the highest in Europe, fluctuating around 22 to 25% in recent years. Look at Finland, another country with compulsory military service. Youth unemployment still fluctuates between 15 and 18%. And even in South Korea, famous for mandatory military service, it continues to struggle with youth unemployment.
Mr. Speaker, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development consistently recommends policies such as apprenticeships, vocational education, wage subsidies, entrepreneurship support, and partnership with private employers. Because these programs create sustainable employment And even if this policy somehow work, and I've just shown that it does not, the government still faces an impossible hurdle, the proposition wants Jamaica to compel unemployed youths into military or national service. But they have failed to answer one simple question.
Who is going to pay for it? The Jamaica Defense Force currently has approximately 4,000 active personnel and Jamaica spends an estimated 260 million US annually on defense, about 1.3 to 1.4% of the GDP.
That expenditure supports a professional volunteer force, not a nationwide compulsory service program. That means expanding the current military or national service system five times over.
How will Jamaica's economy handle this?
The my final point will be about the JDF's JNC program. It lasts for one year and it allows people to receive military and vocational training prior to joining the force. So, similar to what the propositions just suggested. In other words, for one year they teach civilians real military skills, including how to operate firearms. Now, what this service does is it increases the pools of civilians with military skills. Now, what happens after those people are discharged from service if they are not accepted into the JDF? They are released back onto the streets. And even if only a very small number later enter criminal activity, the consequences become more serious because they are trained.
Therefore, the government must demonstrate why this additional risk is justified.
Mr. Speaker, the proposition might say that mandatory service builds discipline. Discipline is valuable, but discipline can be taught through schools, sports, apprenticeships, and cadet programs like our very own cadet academy.
The result of which is speaking to you right now.
You do not need compulsory military service to build character. They may also argue that it reduces crime overall. You've heard that. There is no credible evidence proving that forcing unemployment youths into compulsory service permanently reduces crime. If crime were solved by military service alone, countries with compulsory service would have already eliminated youth crime. Mr. Speaker, today's debate is ultimately about one question. Should unemployment become a reason for the government to control a person's life?
We say absolutely not. We have shown that this policy unfairly targets youths, fails to solve unemployment, imposes the burdens and such and such.
The debate is shaping up.
We would like to thank the leader of opposition for that fine speech. We are at the period of cross-examination where the proposition gets to ask three questions of the opposition and then we flip the arrangement. Each question is limited to 10 seconds with each response limited to 30 seconds. Proposition, you have the floor. Your first question.
Thank you.
>> First question is, would you rather the government invest in unemployed youth before they become vulnerable or spend significantly more money addressing the consequences afterwards?
I would rather the government invest in unemployed youths by investing in programs such as the voluntary services that we talked about such as the CAD programs, the various CAD programs around Jamaica. They could invest in businesses, provide incentives so that private sector businesses invite or hire more young people.
are more free um options that the government could choose to do.
>> Opposition, if we reject this motion today, what exactly happens to the 100,000 youths who are tomorrow morning?
What is the opposition plan B for 8 a.m.
tomorrow?
Yes. So again in the speech he gave different uh options for example uh vocational training so we have skills.
We also mention giving subsidies to business so they are able to uh employ youths and uh give them experience in the working field in real time.
How is if voluntary programs were sufficient?
Why do youth unemployment rate remain so high despite existing initiatives?
Because the current labor market does not have enough jobs for the youths.
That is why our suggestion is to expand that market by investing in the various private sector businesses that will allow more people to get more jobs.
We thank the proposition for those questions. We invite the opposition to ask their questions here. Here here.
My question is, how much will this policy cost taxpayers? And wouldn't that money be better spent creating jobs, apprenticeships, or vocational training instead?
The tax argument is a false choice. We hardly paying the tax of illness. We pay it in 2.14 billion to Ministry of Labor on Social Security.
>> My question is if unemployment is often lack of available jobs, why should unemployed youths be punished for circumstances beyond their control?
All right. So, first and foremost, this is not punishment. It cannot be punishment when you are taking unemployed individuals, giving them training. You are also paying them.
You're giving them an opportunity. You are taking them out of a situation where they're unemployed, nowhere to go, nothing to do, and you're giving them a proper opportunity and a proper chance, a fair and equitable chance at life.
But isn't the government's responsibility to create opportunities rather than compel unemployed citizens into service?
>> This is the opportunity that has been created. The reality is that even though they are voluntary services and other programs, it is not enough to take all or most of the unemployed youth off the road with idle hands. We are take we are trying to encapsulate almost every and every citizen who is unemployed or every young individual who is unemployed to give them a better future.
>> All right. We thank both teams for that exciting period of crossexamination.
We invite now the deputy prime minister to give his substantive speech here.
Here here.
Mr. Speaker, honorable judges, worthy timekeeper, members of this honorable house, good day. I am number 27242 trainee conible Andrew Morris the deputy's prime minister of the proposition. I raise firmly in support of the motion be it resolved that mandatory military or national service should apply to the unemployed youths.
The prime minister has established the foundation of our case. I now rise to strengthen that foundation and and address the concerns of the opposition.
Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. We are not saying that every unemployed youth is a criminal. We are not saying that un unemployment makes someone a threat to societ so society. We are saying that young people are who are unemployed disconnect from opportunities and without direction the government has a responsibility to intervene constructively.
An idle youth is not a lost youth but an idle youth without opportunity can become vulnerable to negative influences.
This is why national service provide a structured alternative. Mr. Speaker, national service builds discipline and responsibility in youths. Military and national service can teach punctuality, teamwork, leadership, resilience, accountability, and the respect for authority. National service can also involve community development, environmental projects, project projects, disaster preparedness, healthc care supports, and other forms of civic engagements.
The young person who enters this program may leave with something more valuable than when they have entered. It's a sense of purpose because sometime the greatest barrier to success is not a lack of ability, but the lack of opportunity, structure, and direction.
Mr. Speaker, national service strengthen patriotism and national unity. A country is not built by government alone. A country is built by its people. Every year government expect Jamaica expect the government to respond when hurricane strikes. We expect our roads to be repaired, our hospitals to operate, our school to educate our children and our societies to force and keep our communities safe.
Yet these national institution cannot succeed through environment government alone. But one hand can clap. So whether the young people are planting trees, assisting during disasters, supporting vulnerable communities or participating in public service projects, they learn that citizens come with responsibilities.
Patriotism is not merely waving a flag.
Patriotism is being willing to serve the country that you call home. Our national motto is out of many one people. That is more than a phrase engrave in our court of arms. It is the promise that despite our different communities, backgrounds and circumstance, we rise and fall together. We share one country, one common future. Jamaica is not new to the concept of national service. The Jamaica National Service Corpse has demonstrated that national service can be used to train and empower young people and prepare them to pro for a productive participation in society. Based on the Jamaica Information Service, the government has already allocated $1 billion in revenue to supplied unemployed and vulnerable youths.
According to the Ministry of Finance, in 2025 to 2026, we have already paid $21 billion every year to the Ministry of Labor and Society alone. We pay it in policing. We pay it in prisons. 16% of our youths are touched by gang activities. Dropout rates in some communities reach 27%. But here's the flip. If we integrate just 10% of the youths, 31,000 individuals into the workforce, they could contribute over $170 million to our economy every year.
So I ask the question, is national service if national service can train and empower young people? Why should we automatically reject a carefully designed program for unemployed youths?
Now, Mr. Speaker, let me address the opposition strongest argument. They say this policy is forced labor or that it violates constitutional rights. Mr. Speaker, that is clearly a misrepresentation of our purpose. We are not proposing that the government should seize unemployed youths force for them to work without protection, compensation or safeguard. We propose a structured program established by law with the clear rules, appropriate compensation, training, exemptions where necessary and the proper oversightes. We respect the constitution but is not an excuse for a government to do nothing. It's a framework that tells government how it must act. I asked the opposition if our program provides training, renumeration, certification, and a pathway to into employment. Is it truly fair to call it exploitation?
Forced labor exploits. National service develops. Forced labor takes without giving. National service invest in the individual while allowing the individual to invest in Jamaica. And let us remember not every young person needs to carry a weapon. This is why we say military service or national service.
One person may serve through agriculture, another through environmental protection, one through disaster preparedness, another in healthcare, community development or vocational training. The purpose is not to militarize our youths. The purpose is to mobilize our youths. When a young person is unemployed, the opposition will ask why aren't you working? We the proposition we ask what opportunities have we created for you? Now Mr. Speaker, we must also recognize that prolong youth unemployment does not affect the individual. It affect the entire nation. When young people remain unemployed economically inactive for extended periods of time, they may depend more heavily on government assistance and public resources while contributing little or nothing to the tax base. At the same time, the government must spend resources addressing the social consequences associated with the unemployment including poverty, crime prevention and community development. This is not about blaming the unemployed youths. It about breaking the cycle of dependency.
National service give the young people structure instead of idleness, skills instead of stagnation, purpose instead of uncertainty and service instead of isolation. We are not proposing mandatory skills because we have given up on our youths. We are proposing it because we have not given up on our youths. A n a nation that invest in it in its youths invest in its future. A nation that give its youth purpose give its future direction. Mr. Speaker, I urge this honorable house to support the motion that mandatory military skills or national service should apply to the unemployed youths. We are not taking away the future of our Jamaican youths.
We are trying to give them one. I stand proudly with the proposition. I thank you.
>> We thank the deputy prime minister for that fine speech. We invite the deputy leader of the opposition to do likewise here. here.
>> Mr. Speaker, honorable judges, timekeeper, worthy opponents, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.
My colleague has already exposed the core injustice of this motion. Be it resolved that mandatory military or national service should apply to unemployed youths. I arise to reinforce that case to dismantle the government's remaining justifications and to show what Jamaica should do instead. The government wants you to believe that this is about giving youth purpose. But let us be clear about what this motion actually does. It creates two classes of young Jamaicans. those with jobs who keep their freedom and those without jobs who lose it. This is not nation building. This is state coercion dressed up as opportunity.
First, this policy mismatches the problem and the solution. The government claims youth unemployment is caused by lack of discipline and direction. The data says otherwise. Unemployment in Jamaica is driven by limited sector growth and skills mismatches and lack of access to capital markets. You cannot drill that away. In countries with conscription, the service does not create jobs. It warehouses young people.
My colleague cited Greece, Finland, and South Korea. Let me add the mechanism.
When those young people exit service, they re-enter into the exact same labor market that failed them before.
With no new industry experience and with employers who still do not have vacancies to offer, we would be spending billions to press pause on unemployment not to solve it. Second, economic m collapses under scrutiny. The government has not told you the real price tag. Our defense force is built for 4,000 professionals. Expanding to observe 20,000 or 30,000 conscripts means building barracks, kitchens, clinics, training ranges, and hiring thousands of officers to supervise them.
That is capital expenditure plus a recurring wage, food and health and health bill every single year. Mr. Speaker, this is money taken directly from what actually creates jobs. Every dollar spent feeding a conscript for a year is a dollar not spent on TVET expansion to certify youth in trades where Jamaica has real demand. Construction, tourism, logistics, renewable energy, apprenticeships, subsidies where the government pays part of the youth's wage so a business can afford to hire and train. Micro grants, sorry, microrants and digital upskilling so a young person in Kingston, Montego Bay or rural St. Elizabeth can start a business instead of waiting for a posting. One bill's productive capacity.
The other bills dependency on the state budget.
Today it is if you are unemployed you must serve. Tomorrow what is the logic that stops it? If you are on path you must serve. If you are a graduate but cannot find jobs in six months, must you serve?
The government will tell you that this builds discipline and patriotism. We agree discipline matters, but discipline is not the monopoly of the army. Our cadet corpse, our 4 clubs, hard na trust, our sport leagues and community service programs already build character voluntarily. The difference is critical.
Volunteers choose to serve out of pride.
Conscripts serve out of fear of penalty.
You cannot legislate patriotism.
This well there is also a practical harm. Forcing a young woman who wants to attend a UI or a young man caring for an elderly parent or a youth with a business idea into a barracks for a year destroys their plans.
The state should expand choices not cancel them because of economic failure.
The government may also say other countries do it too and they did site a a country I believe it is Singapore.
Yes. Um these countries do use military conscript but those countries do it for defense needs not as an unemployment scheme and even they are moving away from it because it is expensive and ineffective for labor markets. If the model worked youth unemployment would be zero in these places. It is not. The opposition supports national service voluntary national service tied to real skills and real pay. We should scale heart and apprenticeship. Partner with hotels, construction firms, BPOS and firms to guarantee a job at the end of training. Youth entrepreneurship fund, low interest loans and grants for youthled businesses with mentorship, public works with choice, higher first policies.
This is how you turn unemployment into employment, not by hiding it in uniform.
Mr. Speaker, the proposition asks this house to punish young people for an economic failure they did not cause. It is unfair. It is wasteful. This is un Jamaican. Jamaicans believe in hard work and opportunity, not compulsion. We do not need to force our youth into service. We need to serve our youth with jobs, training, freedom, and freedom to choose their future. For those reasons, I urge you I urge this house to reject the motion and I yield the floor. Thank you.
>> We thank the deputy leader of the opposition for that fine speech. The debate, the debate is shaping up and it is getting hot. All right, we invite the opposition now to ask their three questions of the proposition and then the arrangement flips. One more. Once more.
First question.
Do you believe this policy undermines the constitution and if so why is this government pushing the policy?
>> Can I repeat the question please?
Do you believe this policy undermines the constitution and if so why is this government pushing this policy?
>> Okay. So you can say it you ask if it undermines the constitution. Well um you might look at it as we are limiting someone's um personal liberty but at the end of the day all rights come with responsibilities.
Now we are in a society where these individuals yes they have their personal liberty but it affects them that they don't have a job. So what is real freedom? Is freedom having somebody sit for years and years without a job without opportunity without direction without any skills or is it giving individuals opportunity to live a productive life.
Your second speaker said this is not forced labor. But how is it not when the International Labor Organization defines it as any work extracted from someone without their voluntary consent?
>> All right. So we don't see it as forced labor. Forced labor exploits without any benefit to the individual. This program benefits the individual as long as well as the country. These are individuals who do not who are not employed. They have nothing. We are giving them this program gives them an opportunity at life. Imagine somebody at home living at home 10 years no employment. No chance at employment. We are giving them that chance. We are giving them training in income and a proper um plan for the future.
Can you name another democratic policy where citizens lose their freedom simply because they are unemployed?
>> Can you name another democratic policy where citizens lose their freedom simply because they are in unemployed?
Uh, response.
>> Hold on. Can Can you repeat the question one more time, please?
>> Can you name another democratic policy where citizens lose their freedom simply because they are unemployed?
Well, No, there's no democratic policy that and we are not enforcing that citizens are losing their freedom. What we are enforcing is is the opportunity we are giving to them. What we are enforcing is a civic responsibility that we are giving to them.
All right. Thank you for that response.
Uh we invite the proposition to ask their three questions of the opposition here. here.
>> Can you identify a single disadvantage of a young person becoming more disciplined, more employable and more civically responsible?
That is the fact that they will be they will have that set of skills in a particular uh a particular place a particular area. It is not conclusive to the fact that they will need to be hired in a another area. So they have that particular set of skills.
They do not have the skills required to be hired in this area. How will they get that skills? Yeah, they can't because they only have that set of skills.
>> Does your government have any responsibility to actively prepare unemployed youth for employment or should it simply wait for the private sector to solve the problem?
Yes. Could you go ahead with that question again?
>> Does your government have any responsibility to actively prepare unemployed youth for for employment or should it simply wait for the private sector to solve the problem?
>> Yes. So we went over that plan many times during the speech. So we did site that we want to uh instill apprenticeships, vocational education, wage subsidies, entrepreneurship support and partnership with p with uh private employers.
Final question.
>> If if your policy leaves an an unemployed young Jamaican exactly where they are today with no job, no experience, and no structured pathway employment, how can you how can you honestly tell that the house that the house your approach serve them better than yours?
>> It's very simple because they will still have their freedom. They can still choose to pursue higher education. They can still choose to go and develop a skill with NCT VET or heart. They can still choose. They still have their personal liberty. Unlike in the policy that you set up after they come out, they have a particular set of skills and they cannot choose to go into a business that demands another set of skills.
We thank we thank both teams for that exciting period of crossexamination.
Now we are at the point at which we will pause for one minute just to allow the reply speakers to put the finishing touches on their speeches before we get to the opposition reply and then to the government's final remarks.
Feel good.
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>> All right, we are well the time is up and we invite the opposition reply speaker to take the floor and to close off the case for side opposition here.
here.
>> Please allow me to adapt all protocols that have been established. Gazited officers, Mr. Speaker, honorable judges, timekeeper, worthy opponents, audience, a pleasant evening to you all. We have heard both sides. Now, the question for this house is simple. When we weigh the benefits the government pro promises against the harms this motion creates, which side better serves Jamaica and its young people? Let us weigh this debate properly. On the matter of principle, there's fairness versus coercion. The government says mandatory service is equal because everyone unemployed would be treated the same. But equality is not treating unequal situations the same. It is giving everyone the same freedom to choose. My teammates and I have shown that unemployment is not a choice. It is the result of failed markets, investment and economic cycles. Yet this motion says if you are unlucky in the job market, you lose your liberty. If you are lucky, you keep it.
This principle is dangerous. Once we accept that the government can compel you because of your economic status, we open the door for more compulsion tomorrow. A free democracy does not trade liberty for a job. It creates jobs so liberty can be exercised on outcomes.
There are real jobs versus statistical tricks. The government claims that this will quote unquote reduce unemployment.
But as my first speaker showed, removing people from a statistic is not the same as solving the problem. Let us look at the evidence where Greece, Finland, South Korea all have conscriptions, conscriptions, all struggle with youth unemployment. And please note they are under the international labor organization and the organization for economic cooperation and development which works with high income or or flourishing countries.
What we recommend are apprenticeships, TVET certification, wage subsidies, and private sector partnerships, not conc conscriptions. Compulsory service does not create a single job in the private sector. It delays unemployment by 12 months, then sends young people back to the same job market, no older and with a gap on their resume.
Also, teaching youth military service for a short period of time only makes them more capable gang leaders and a challenging opponent for the law enforcement because they already know your tactics.
We have weighed impact versus impact, temporary placement versus permanent employment. One expires, the other sustains families. On the matter of cost, we have billions spent versus billions invested. The government has not costed this. But we can to house, feed, train, and equip even 20,000 conscripts. We must expand our defense and public sector systems five-fold.
This means new barracks, new officers, new medical facilities, and a recurring bill every single year. Mr. Speaker, weigh that against the alternative.
These millions could fund the heart NSDA trust and NCT vet expansion to produce electricians, plumbers, coders, hospitality workers that Jamaica actually needs.
Also, wage subsidies so businesses can afford to hire firsttime unexperienced workers. Grants for youth businesses in agriculture, tech, and also tourism.
One consumes resources, the other creates taxpayers. The choice is clear.
The government is offering discipline, order, and a lower unemployment on paper. But this oppos opposition is offering real jobs, real skills, real investment, and the preservation of freedom. So ask yourself this, my fellow audience. In 5 years, what serves Jamaica better? 20,000 people who have spent a year marching and are now unemployed again or 20,000 young people with a trade certificate, small business, a job in tourism, logistics, or even tech.
In conclusion, we strengthen a nation by not forcing into uniform, but by giving every young Jamaican the education, the opportunity, and the choice to build their own future. And for these reasons, the opposition asked you to reject this motion. Let us create jobs, not commands. Let us build industries, not barracks. Let us invest in opportunity and not coercion. I urge against a vote.
I thank you. I yield the floor.
We thank the opposition reply for that fine closing of the opposition bench. We invite the proposition reply speaker to do likewise here. here.
>> Honorable speaker, esteemed adjudicators, worthy opponents, members of this honorable house, ladies and gentlemen, good day. I am number 27229 training council Rabinson. Today this debate is never about forcing young people. It's always about refusing to abandon them. Throughout this debate the opposition has spoken repeatedly about rights, freedom and choice. We agree we agree that rights matter but every right carries a every rights carries a corresponding responsibility. No society survives when citizens when citizen demand everything from the nation but nothing >> or rights not the most important thing >> that is not allowed during the reply speech. Those were expressly stated in the rules before.
So we will allow the speaker to continue with the preservation of the couple seconds that he just lost. So you can continue your speech.
>> We agree that rights matter but every right carries a corresponding responsibility. No society survives when citizen demand everything from the nations nations but contribute nothing to it. No man is in an island. No man stands alone. Every Jamaican expects the government to respond with hurricanes devastate communities. We expect our roads to be repaired and after disasters. We expect hospitals to continue saving lives. We expect schools to educate our children. We expect the JCF and the JDF to protect our communities. But honorable speaker, who carries out these responsibilities?
People do. Nation building has never been the responsibility of government alone. It always been dependent on citizens who are willing, prepared, and equipped to serve. This is exactly what national and military service creates.
The opposition want us to believe that our that our proposal takes something away from young youth young young people. The truth is exactly the opposite. We gave them something they do not already have. Purpose, experience, confidence. Honorable speaker, let us examine what the house has already heard today. Our prime minister demonstrated that thousand of young Jamaicans are unemployed not because of the lack of intelligence of or ambition, but because they lack opportunity.
He showed the house that national or military service brings a gap between education and employment by providing practical experience, discipline, leadership and transferable skills. Our deputy prime minister approved that national army military service develops responsible citizens certain plurism build unity and prepares young people to contribute to meaning to to meaningful to society.
Together we have shown one consistent vision. This service transamp potential into productivity. Now compare that with opposition. What does their resolution been to leave thousands of unemployed young people exactly where they are waiting, applying, being rejected?
Honorable speaker, hope without opportunity is not a policy. It is neglect. The opposition repeatedly claims that the monetary service violates freedom. But I asked this house, what freedom what freedom exists for a young person trapped in a cycle of unemployment? Where freedom exists when every job application is rejected because they have no experience. What freedom exists when frustration reply replaces hope. Freedom with opportunity is merely an illusion. Our proposal give that opportunity. The opposition has also called is forced labor. The argument simply does not serve scrutiny.
Forced labor exploits people for someone's else benefit. National or military service develops people for their own benefit and for the country's benefit.
Participants receive structured training. They receive supervision, certification, renumeration. They leave more employable than when they entered.
That is investment, not exploitation.
Honorable speaker, the debate is ultimately a ethical one. Imagine two governments. One sees 20,000 unemployed young people and says we cannot interfere. Good luck. The other says we will train you. We will train you. We will invest in you. We will prepare you.
We will help you build your future.
Which government truly believe in its youth? Which government shows vision?
Which government demonstrates leadership? Our side chooses action.
Their side chooses inaction. The opposition has also asked the house to focus on the word monetary. We ask this house to focus on the outcome.
At the end of the 12 months, one young Jamaican possess recognized skills, workplace experience, discipline, leadership, training, emergency response training, civic responsibility, and stronger chance of employment. The alternative the same young person remains unemployed without experience without structure and without a party foreign. Honorable speaker which future better save Jamaica this house must consider the long-term consequences.
Today's unemployment tool will come tomorrow's workforce parents entrepreneurs police officers nurses teachers and leaders. If we fail to invest in them today we will pay the price tomorrow. This is not merely a policy. This is vision. This is foresight. Lesson Mandela reminded the world that the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. The question before the house is simple. Will we prepare these future leaders or simply hope someone else does? Or Mr. Speaker, the proposition refused to leave Jamaica's future to choice. We choose opportunity over neglect, purpose over idleness, preparation over hopelessness, investment over abandonment. Because unemployment are not a burden to be ignored. They are resource to be developed for stronger individuals, for a safer communities, for a more resilient economy, for a stronger Jamaica.
Honorable, >> we thank the de we thank the government reply for that fine speech and for closing out the entirety of the debate.
us as the judges will not take very long in deliberating because we're you know very strict time constraints in a sense. So what we as the judges will do we will go and deliberate and then I will come and explain the reason and rational behind the judge's decision.
We thank our adjudicators for aly bringing us so far through this section of the program. And so while we're on this part of intermission, if you will, I do turn over to our musicians. Thank you.
Oh, I miss the I missed you.
We can come again just the same now.
mouth is ugly and you say to go's the show.
Remember the songs used to make you away.
We can come again.
We do it just the same.
Dennis Brown and you woman starts to gay used to make me drift away.
We dance all night.
We can come again just the same.
Right now we need a brand newwhere and if there used to make you were the rain.
We can come again.
Do it just the same.
Those were the days when used to rain.
city make jelly es Girl, just be who you want to be. You're baby.
But I want to take youwhere tonight.
I don't know if I know if I be coming with tonight.
Oh, why?
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Yes girl where we are going it's not the car but I'm caric let me take you somewhere and I don't know where you want Go with me.
So much to see, so many things to see.
And I don't know if I want to take youwhere in your eyes over the side with you.
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There is no simple answer.
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I put around you to light up your darkness.
I put around you a circle of trees.
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to light up your darkness until you argue.
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I give you my word to my baby.
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I want to be your real I know you've been hurt.
I know you're love.
You got my heart in the palm of your hand.
I swear it's baby no my Baby, I want to be your soul.
Baby, baby, your soul provider.
Baby love on my love day and night and I'll show you baby to You're so baby.
That's the longest one, but I lovem.
No, I don't want you to leave. Will you hold my hand?
It's good to see.
Why am I so emotion?
Stay with me.
You're all I need.
This ain't love to see me.
Won't you stay with me? Won't you stay with me?
You're all I love to see, darling.
I just you see I was falling into love. Oh you said to me about life the truth and being free to me. Oh, you to me.
See, I live for how you make me feel. So I realize And I can't believe I didn't see it in your eyes.
I can't believe it. Oh, what a feeling when you sing to me.
How long do you hear the clear blue skies?
And I promise you this time I'll see it in your eyes.
I feel it.
When you me to think you live inside of me. I had no idea how this could be. Now I'm crazy for your love. Can't believe that I'm crazy for your love. All the words you said to me. And you show me where I want to be. You sang to me. Oh, you to me.
Although while you were in front of me, I didn't realize.
And I can't believe I didn't see it in your eyes. I didn't see it.
I can't believe it. Oh, what a feeling when you sing to me.
How I sing beneath the clear blue skies.
And I promise you this time I'll see it in your eyes. I didn't see it.
I can't believe it.
I want to give it up.
Oh baby, come hold on like a spider.
She insider me.
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on the night shift.
Baby on the night shift.
Oh yeah, baby.
I'm truly in love with you.
Yeah, you know you're driving me crazy. Check it out.
When I'm with you, I feel so shy.
It's a blessing and I won't take Break heart shaking love making through the night.
In my arms I've been waiting for you to come my way. And I'm not afraid to tell you. Baby, I love you daily and now you got me singing like crazy shaking love making through the night.
Breathtaking heart shaking love making f And now you're measy.
You are my fantasy. It's breathtaking.
Heart shaking love making through the night. Breath through the night.
When I'm with you, I feel so shy.
But I can't truly bless and I won't take you baby heart through the night. Bread taking heart love making through the night. Bread love making through the night. Bread good.
Tell me soonid up your mind.
within early morning hold of Shine bright girl forever. She whom shre baby feel up your mind as early as I dream of me girl squeeze me as she face me. I could tell she was feeling pain. I thought I had something sweet to tell her. As I open up my umbrella, she was so confused, scared, hide my engage in a good story. I told her, "Baby, I'm the man that you're looking for.
Baby, I'm taking you home with me tonight.
You're going to stay with me.
I'm taking you home with me tonight.
I'm a lover, baby.
She didn't know how long she was going to last. So many times he told her sorry and her mind's made up. She said she turns just trying to baby with me for life.
I'm taking you home with me tonight.
I would use the brightest colors to create a vision of harmony. It would be reality only.
What do you see? Is it warm? Is it tender? When I think of me, I see the color of love. When I'm thinking of you as a picture forever, the colors of the rainbow turn its way once you The colors are deep inside.
Now I'd like to take a look at emotions that you love.
What do you see? Is it tender girl? Need a good man in your life. A real man in your life. A man love you up. A man about each and every night.
Make you cry.
Loneliness is taking over the pillar. comforts her at night.
alone.
Give it up.
>> Girl, you need a good man in your life.
A real man in your life. A man love you.
A man care about your girl each and every night.
finger like any respect every time she get to you and down she always to Loneliness is taking over the pillar comfort at night alone and she say real in your never seem to find happiness and peace of mind.
through my ups and downs and you babys night you cried yourself to sleep.
Never knew the life I live was making you weep because of me. You couldn't see the need.
Only the Lord knows what you saw in me.
Thank you for my ups and downs and ins and outs. You stood by me.
Oh baby, thank you for loving me.
>> Yeah, you never find that people hurt you. Never mind. No one in this time.
So never mind.
Baby, baby, let us put the test.
Join our hearts and souls. Keep us You never find things that people say you never minds and around I'll be with you girlence after you but I will still love you with care but you see and feel the real me.
Your friend said that you're not sincere. Your friend said proceed with care. You see the real insane make it without you.
ever make it without you.
I could never make it without you without you.
Could I never ever make it without you?
Could never make it without you. Could I never baby come back nowhere?
Baby, come back here.
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Make it without you.
I never ever make it without you. Could never make it without you. I could never make it without you.
It's so well dry.
I need you so bad I'll ever ever make it without you. Could never make it without you. I could never make it without you without you.
I never ever make it without you. Could never make it without you. I could never make it without you. without you.
Finally, we found the love of my future in your eyes. I don't believe when this day is I can see clear and we found the love of our time forever's not enough time to love you cuz baby I love you all my life now that I found you I realize baby I'm alive.
Finally, we found the love of our time.
And I can't see my whole future in your eyes. I don't believe I can see baby and we love.
It's incredible how you move me in each and every way.
So unforgettable that the way we feel.
It can never change. All that I need and adore. All I've been asking, all I've been longing for. This is it. I'm sure.
I'm so sure.
And I can see my future in your eyes. I don't believe when I can see clear and meloies and I'll be forever again.
love and I can't see my whole future in your eyes. I don't believe when I can see clear baby and me and more than a million miles away now and forever.
and we just hold you.
All right.
Good evening everyone.
No, that doesn't sound too good. Can I have some more energy? Good evening everyone.
>> Very good. I want you guys to give both teams a thunderous round of applause.
This has been one of the most spectacular demonstrations of intellectual rigor that I've seen at the National Police College. This was an extremely good debate.
I want to first start out by highlighting where exactly uh the debate is situated.
Now the motion requires both teams to argue whether national uh service be it through military or uh civic participation in some sense that that be mandatory right that either team has to propose a policy that stipulates the government mandate this sort of service now I feel on both teams the tipping point in the debate was whether this provides more employment ment for individuals, right? And I think it's not only just employment because employment happens in either world, but it is the extent to which that employment is long-term, is sustainable, and can be supported as the years go by. Now, two things to note where both teams are coming from. I think both teams characterize two different problems in respect to why employment rates are so low. So in government we get the idea that employment is so low amongst youth because there are skill mismatches or a lot of these younger persons lack the experience right they aren't disciplined enough they don't have enough experience to get these jobs and therefore their policy uh which is mandated service is going to fix all of this by one giving job opportunities to individuals two building discipline and character and three giving people skills and experience to gain jobs as they come out of this system or program. Right? And we thought that at that point that was good characterization because it shows a contextual understanding of the debate but also what the intended goals are for that team to achieve. But on the comparative we get a more cleaner demonstration or cleaner explanation of what exactly the problem is. So they say that it's not only about the extent to which a lot of these young persons have skills or experiences but it's also about one the fact that there's limited sector growth two that there exists as well the skill mismatch as they concede and then second sorry third that there is limited access to capital and all of these impact the employer's incentives to provide more jobs or to create more jobs uh particularly in respect to entry- level positions. Right now at that point, opposition gives us their alternative. Opposition says what actually solves these more deeper systemic issues are things like apprenticeship programs, vocational training, business subsidies, and wage subsidies. Right? They explain two ways in which this solves their problem. They say one it expands the amount and diversity of jobs that exist through investment uh in growth and then second that it protects individual autonomy.
Now how did we weigh that against the case that side government brought? We think it responded to their case in two way. OP replies to go's case by saying one that their policy essentially discriminates along lines of whether individuals are employed or not. Right?
that this almost is like in my own words a policy that p that privileges some persons because of the opportunities they have over other persons and that is unfair and unjust. And then the second thing they say is that it doesn't solve the employment incentives and capacities of businesses because what makes businesses hire isn't what is being solved here. Right? There isn't an incentive or well not even incentive there isn't a push on the side of gov to change these employment incentives or try to fix the structural issues that they say for example providing capital to private enterprises such that they're able to expand the amount of entry- level positions that they have but also in respect to the sort of yeah but also in respect to individuals having access to capital for example. Right. And then the second the third response rather is that discipline and character aren't mutually exclusive on either model right it isn't unique on gov because they still can enter these apprenticeship programs they still can voluntarily enter like vocational training they still can have these things that build out character without mandating that individuals participate in this sort of program right at the end of the debate we thought that opposition provided the cleaner model for how they achieve the solutions sorry the the benefits of their side in the debate right so for example when they characterize the problems as being capital access skill mismatch and limited access to sorry and limited sector growth right we see that there's a correlation or well a direct causal link established between investing more in small businesses in enterprises and a sheer growth in the extent to which young persons are employed. We didn't get that so cleanly on government because we didn't understand exactly why service right mandated national military service right is going to solve the particular problem of individuals not being able to like get jobs or so on. But even at that point, OP has a response. OP says that even if you're to invest in the short term right now, it doesn't mean that those long-term benefits are going to be had because the very same structural issues that exist that prevent people from accessing employment continue to exist even after these people gain the experience from this program. Right?
That they're still going to go back into that very broken labor market and the issues are still going to exist. What exactly changes it? I think opposition gets the benefit of that. In respect to cost, we thought that that wasn't entirely like a meaningful clash in the debate particularly because on either side, you need money to do what you're going to do, right? You need money to create this sort of national program to pay the persons who will be participating, but also you are going to need money to invest in businesses and invest in sector growth. Now, the clash that I've just mentioned a while ago, which is long-term sustainability, we thought that is ultimately what decided the debate, right? And on that, the scores end 282 to 261.
There's a massive gap between both teams. And so the winner for tonight's debate, drum roll please, is team opposition squad six. Squad squad two. Squad two. Squad two. Squad two.
I'd also love to congratulate what I thought was one of the best performances I've seen uh with my experience being here.
The best debater for this match is the second opposition speaker.
Now it might be controversial but the explanation is simple. The second opposition speaker brought the content that effectively weighed against the proposition team and that is what matters most because debate is a sport that rewards substance over hype.
Thank you.
Thank you to our chief adjudicator for this evening. Let's hear it one more time for our adjudicatory panel overall.
And let's even have a bigger round of applause for our winners this evening.
Squad two.
Indeed, it's been an evening well spent.
But I know more than anything else, our debaters have been eyeing that lovely table right there. Right, debaters?
>> I hear them saying, "Yes, miss behind me." And so without further ado, we move right into our presentation of awards and certificates.
I ask that Miss Tannisia Johnson makes her way as we are asking her this evening to present to our commendable debater.
Commendable debater. Commendable debater.
>> Third speaker of opposition. Commendable debater. Round of applause please.
Where? Where you want? Up here, sir.
All right. Maybe we need to move this.
Hold on.
Hold on. Do you want Do you want to be All right. Thank you, Madame Johnson.
And she makes way for Mrs. Maldria Jones Williams, our senior superintendent of police of FSIT. And she'll be presenting to our best debater for the evening.
Command man, our big a round of applause. Out of all the arguments, this person presented the best argument.
While our commandant gets ready to present to our second place winners this evening, we ask them as well to make themselves ready as he's coming. our commandant Mr. Ogulvie. He'll be presenting this evening to our second place, and I say second place winners because the debate is what it is this evening because of both teams. Right.
So, let's hear it. And he'll be presenting this evening to squad six.
Cles.
Let's give a round of applause for them.
So, just so you can understand, they're getting their trophies, they're getting their baskets, they're getting their personalized tumblers.
And I'm sure there are also presents there that you won't see, including their cake. It's on the table. But in the interest of time, we won't allow him to present everything.
I was asking you what you All right, I just took myself out of the way to allow them to be able to better utilize the backdrop. And so we continue. We now present to our first place winners this evening. Squad.
Squad.
Squad two. Indeed.
I invite our very own ACP or assistant commissioner of police, Mr. Merrick Watson to present. He'll be presenting several different items and of course the trophy to them.
So, of course, if you if you are paying keen attention, their baskets are indeed colorcoded this evening. So, you'll be presenting the white basket to squad two, which is of course white squad.
Sir, while you hand over the basket, you can just remain. There are a few more items that will be coming, including their trophies.
Some lovely items that I'm sure they will enjoy in the bags.
Their customized tumblers are over there and they'll get them.
Keep the round of applause going for squad two. Come on, man. They did put on a show for us tonight.
You collect yours already. A four. You collect yours already.
Oh.
Let me hear the audience say one squad two.
One squad two indeed >> and of course of course what they came for. So we invite them to come to lift the trophy which of course is a perpetual trophy. So their names will be added in short order. The last name on it is 165. So of course they will be added on.
Let's hear it again for squad two one more time.
As was said before, their cake is on the table. Their personalized tumblers are on the table as well.
>> I ask Mr. Rodney Matthews to get himself in readiness. Our deputy superintendent of police, he will be presenting to the squads.
So I ask the squads in the meantime to get your CC or your dcc ready to come on behalf of each squad. Thank you sir.
You'll be coming back shortly but thank you for now. All right sir Matthews I invite you I invite the representative of squad one to come.
Let's I know squad one didn't play tonight but if they didn't play we couldn't arrive at the finals. So, let's hear it for squad one.
Representative of squad one, where are you? Do we need to give away your token?
Squad two, get yourself ready. And we're we'll be going in that order.
So, that's squad one. Squad two, stand by.
All right, squad three, four, five, and six, get ready as well.
Squad three is making their way.
Squad four, stand by. Five and six.
Squad five. I believe this is squad four. Sorry.
All right. Penultimately squad five, come along. And finally, it will be squad six.
While squad 6 collects, I ask Mr. Damian Donaldelsson, our deputy superintendent of police indeed and our deputy commandant. He will be coming to make awards to our esteemed adjudicators this evening. Many of them as well have been serving across not just this batch but many of the batches before. Without them the showmanship on display this evening would not be possible and so we are grateful to them and this is just tokens of our appreciation.
First, we call our very own deputy superintendent of police, Mr. Fletcher. First, we call next our chief adjudicator this evening, Mr. Joshua Atkins and he'll be bringing his panel of course in that order.
So come along. Let's give it up for our chief adjudicator and we'll be asking fellow wing adjudicators including Mr. Salman and so on to come next.
Thank you so much Mr. Hkins.
And finally, we invite And finally, we often say the rose among the thorns.
I'm not sure if it is true this evening, but indeed she's a rose that we see ever so often here with us at debate. Miss Leon Smith.
Leon, please remain where you are, sir.
Please remain.
All right. What's written on it? It's presented to Miss Leon Smith of the Jamaica Police Cooperative Credit Union in recognition of your dedicated partnership and outstanding contribution to debate and nation building through the empowerment of law enforcement officers in training. Batch 167 debate.
Mr. Brown, make your way.
Sir, if you do not Sir, if you do not mind, one more is left. Mr. Ramse's own is here as well, but in his absence, he'll have that one. But we present this one to our IT department and it says appreciation award presenting to the information technology department for your invaluable contribution to the faculty of initial and probationary training debate throughout the years.
Batch 167 Thank you so much. Yes, sir. Thank you so much. Let's hear it for our deputy command.
All right. At this time, we invite Trainee Conible Jerane Aldo. He'll be coming with our vote of thanks.
Following him will be our commandance remarks which will be done by Mr. Lawrence Oglevie.
Okay, we were just told some good news.
Somebody say good news. Somebody say good news again. So the good news was whispered and the good news is based on coming she saw it fit to engage stakeholders from JPCCU and she has additional awards for our debaters. So let's hear it for JPCCU.
So of course that will be cash prize and she's coming with them just before our vote of dance. Somebody say money.
>> All right. Thank you. Who you want?
commendable speaker.
>> All right, we invite the commendable speaker first to make his way >> or her way for apologies her way. Let's hear it for her as she come. I know you not getting any of the money, but be grateful for her, man. Come on. When we celebrate other people's blessings, blessings come our way, too.
>> Best speaker, make your way.
So, having talked the things tonight, he's now being awarded for talking the things tonight. Let's hear it again one more time for our best debater.
>> Second place.
>> Second place group photo she has for you as well. Second place, make your way.
And I'm assuming if second place in it, first place must be in it as well. So, they'll be coming next. Let's hear it one more time for JPCCU.
Come on, man. Let's hear it for our credit union.
It's nice to treat your own. So, it's nice that they chose to continue to support us as they have done in the past. First place would want the money.
It seem as if first place don't want the money. Anybody in the audience want it?
They're moving a little slow. All right, let's hear it again for first place.
All right. So, thank you, Madame Smith.
What a welcome addition to the program.
Somebody say welcome addition.
So, now we know why they call her the money lady. All right, with that being said, we move along and I hope trainee conible Adler is ready. He'll be making his way with our vote of thanks.
Following him, the next voice you will hear in that order will be or that of our commandant. He'll be giving his remarks and that is Mr. Lawrence Ogulvie, superintendent of police. and then he will make way finally for our ACP's remarks and course closure.
So that's it from me tonight. All the best.
>> Sure.
>> Yes.
Masters of ceremony, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Director of the National Police College of Jamaica, Mr. Mary Quasen, Senior Superintendent of Police, Mrs. Senior Superintendent of Police, Mrs. Malgia Jones Williams, Commandant of the Faculty of Initial and Probationary Training. Mr. Lawrence Ogilvi, Deputy Commandant. Mr. Damian Donaldelson, Principal of the Ket Academy, Miss Tia Johnson, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Administrative Directors, Officers, and members of the Jamaica Constable Air Force, distinguished adjudicators from the Jade Limited, instructors, technical staff, fellow trainee, ladies and gentlemen. A pleasant good evening to you all.
I am training conible Jane Alder and it is a distinct honor and privilege to deliver the vote of thanks on behalf of batch 167 following this evening's thrilling faculty of initial and probationary training debate competition finale. Tonight has been a remarkable display of critical thinking, confidence, teamwork, and professionalism as squad two and squad six engage in an inspiring battle of wit, conviction, intellect, and eloquence. Regardless of the outcome, both teams have demonstrated that effective communication and sound reasoning and indispensable qualities of modern policing officers.
This is a memorable occasion.
First and foremost, we will all honor and glory to the Almighty God whose grace, protection, and guidance has sustained us through training and allowed us to witness and participate in this successful event. To our assistant commissioner of police, Mr. Merrick Watson, thank you for honoring us with the presence with your presence this evening and for your unwavering commitment to development and developing future members of the Jamaica Conabal Air Force. Your continued support inspires us to strive for excellence in service to the people of Jamaica.
To our commandant deputy to our commandant superintendent of police, Mr. Lawrence Ogilvi and our deputy commanderant Mr. Damian Donaldelson.
Thank you for your exemplary leadership, discipline and steadfast commitment to preparing us to become professional, competent and serviceoriented police officers. Your guidance continue to motivate us to uphold the highest standards of the Jamaica Constable Air Force. To our quality assurance officers, Detective Sergeant Debbian Mlechin and Sergeant Rohan Murdoch, thank you for your mentorship, encouragement, and unwavering support throughout this journey. To the Jamaica Association for debating and empowerment, Jade Limited, we extend our heartfelt gratitude, especially to our chief adjudicator, Mr. Joshua Atkins, and the entire Jade team. Thank you for sharing your expertise, professionalism, and passion for develop for developing critical thinkers and confident public speakers.
To our additional adjudicators, Deputy Superintendent Fletcher Grayson and Miss Leone Smith of the Jamaica Police Corporate Credit Union, thank you for generously giving us your time, knowledge, and impartial judgment in evaluating tonight's competition.
to the dedicated instructors and technical staff of the National Police College of Jamaica, particularly those of the faculty of initial and probationary training and the Tickinham Park campus. Thank you for your patience, discipline, and tireless commitment to our growth. To the technical team, we are grateful for ensuring that every aspects of tonight's events proceeded smoothly and professionally. Professionalism To the masters of ceremony, Sergeant Graham, thank you for your poise, professionalism, and excellent stewardship throughout this evening's proceedings.
To the language and communication department, thank you for your vision and dedicating dedication in cultivating effectiveness, communicators, and confident leaders through the development of public speaking, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking skills. To the debaters of squad 2 and squad 6, congratulations to every speaker, researcher, coach, and supporter. Your countless hours of preparation, research, dedication, and teamwork were clearly reflected in tonight's outstanding performances. You have represented yourselves, your squads, and boss 167 with distinction, and you have all made us proud. Finally, to our distinguished guests, officers, rank and file members, instructors, fellow trainees, family members, and supporters, thank you for taking the time to be with us this evening. Your presence, encouragement, and support contributed greatly to the success of this event.
On behalf of B16, thank you all for making this debate competition an unforgettable occasion. May God continue to bless each and every one of you and may God continue to bless the Jamaica Conible Air Force. Thank you.
Good evening ladies and gentlemen. The protocol has has already been established, so I'll speak for a few minutes. Let me just say though, I I understand the reason for Miss Leon Smith, the marketing manager, being a guest judge at each of these debates because we the strategy the strategy is that you have the purse with the money, then the purse will surely follow. So, thank you, madame, for always taking your purse with us to us.
I'll share a little secret with you all this evening that you may not have known for most of you that ACP and I are from the same batch. We were trained in 1991 at Kabla campus.
Fortunately or unfortunately this evening our squads were on show. So ACP is from squad two and I am from squad six.
So you you learn one thing in life early.
Do not beat your boss.
And so let me congratulate both teams and I am really pleased at the way you exhibited um your skills this evening.
But most importantly I saw a lady in the audience with tears in her eyes. The SP Johnson felt like a proud mother for reasons more than one. The first speaker on the opposition team is from the Kenned Academy and the person who moved the vote of thanks also is from the Ket Academy acade academy. And let me say how proud I am of the young man that moved the vote of thanks as I've watched his growth from the moment he entered the candidate academy to where he is now. And that speaks volumes.
The truth is when we embarked on the partnership with Jade, we did not we were not sure where it would have taken us. But everyone this evening can can surely say that we have seen significant growth in the debaters and we have seen that the debate has grown significantly since we have established this partnership and even though Mr. Barrett is not here this evening. I want for you to convey to him thanks for his continued partnership with us and that we hope that it continues long beyond this evening. But let me also thank the people from the communications department because they too have taken the mantle and we have seen that the debate has grown tremendously to the point where tonight we were able to stream the debate live and that speaks volumes.
So if you didn't recognize, we have made significant strides in more ways than one. But most importantly, it is not only the persons who debate on a nightly basis that benefits. The debate seeks to empower, to educate, to inform the trainees, but most importantly to allow them and prepare them to be more confident in the way they express themselves. And so we're seeing growth in more ways than one. Because the truth is beyond these alls you will be engaging the public and they expect dynamic police officers to be able to engage them in any subject matter in any area and you're seeing across the globe that there are number of issues that are happening globally that we should be aware of and should be able to express ourselves in any conversation or any setting that we go because the truth is we're in a dynamic setting. The world is changing. The world has changed and the global issues that we face we are faced with today requires us to be able to engage the public at all levels especially the fact that we are now in an area where social media taking over and all of us are in an information age with information at our fingertips. So we should seek to empower ourselves but let me also say to batch 168 that your day is coming soon and I'm hoping that you have taken lessons from batch 167.
Hopefully we'll see an even better debate in competition from batch 168 and that 1670 rather will also improve on that and that we continue to build legacy. But let us hope also that when you leave here you will seek to engage. Take tonight's moot and look at it in context. How many youngsters do we see having left school unemployed not engaged? How can you as youngsters when you leave here go out and impact those youngsters so they too will find a way to make meaningful youngsters of themselves. So as we reflect on the mood let us not only digest the information that was passed let us take it on as a challenge to empower ourselves so that we can empower others so that they too will empower others and we pay it forward so as to benefit not only ourselves and our families as police officers but the nation of the whole because the truth is we are nation building. understand that the issues that were raised has serious implication for national security and a weak national security means a weak country.
We hope that you understand the the issues that were discussed. We hope that you will continue to learn, to benefit, to improve, to develop, to grow, and that each of us will take the mantle on to make ourselves better persons for this. Let me also thank all the instructors. It's heartwarming to see the number of instructors that turned up and assisted in preparation of these youngsters. and most of all the other persons from the other faculties who saw it necessary to share with us this evening. Thank you for coming out and we look forward to continue supporting us.
But it would be remiss of me if I did not close by saying publicly congratulations to Inspector Indica who is in our presence who was recently promoted.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me trust that those of you will be journeying that you will journey home safely and that you'll come back to bear with us to share with us. And if you have any ideas as to how we can improve the product, please share with us so that we can continue to grow.
I'm sure madame marketing manager has already has already has ideas and we'll be putting a little more cash because it takes cash to care that has already been sorted. So any other ideas that you may have, we welcome them. Thank you. And may God continue to bless you.
All right. Thank you very much, Mr. Commandant. So it is now common knowledge that the ACT training branch is a member of and a supporter of squad two and the commandant is a member of and a supporter of squad three. We part six. We went up against each other tonight and the results are as as they should be. The ACP squad 2 winning the competition. And you're absolutely correct, Mr. Ogild.
You learned early on that you should never ever try to beat your boss.
You know, I've been accused of speaking too long whenever I do not have a script.
I won't be speaking from a script, so I'm going to ask for your assistance.
Mom, please put three minutes on the clock and I'll try to see how much I can stick to three minutes. So, squad two, let me say congratulations to you. You did a marvelous job. You represented as a true squad two.
trainees aren't supposed to. And I just want to say to squad 6, well done. You know, we needed a competition. We needed somebody, you know, to flog properly and squad six was there. But I appreciate that while I'm the ACP, I'm still a squad two member and I've never hidden this. All right? So I'm always going to be cheering for squad two. So having said that ladies and gentlemen, it's important that for you who are sitting here and the persons who are joining us on social media appreciate that whatever we put into the training is not by chance. Persons may be of the opinion that you know the debate taking into consideration everything that we have to do the debate is just putting added pressure and added work onto the students. But if you look what a debate entails, it entails investigation.
It entails critical thinking. It entails putting your arguments forward in a cogent way and these are the very same things that you'll be expected to do as police officers when you go out there.
So what we are doing is effectively preparing you to carry out the job of a police officer and importantly is that a police officer is required to go out there and to speak to the people that they will be required to serve. Human beings oftenimes make decisions about an individual after the first two minutes of having a conversation with them.
We are about developing the entire human being. We are about ensuring that when they go out there and they open their mouths, persons will want to continue to engage them in conversations. We want to make sure that when they speak and the individual with whom they're required to have conversations walk away from that exchange, they will walk away feeling that they have a police force of which they can be proud. And so, ladies and gentlemen, I heard the commandant asking just now for a recommendation as to how we can improve this. Yes, we are constantly seeking to improve the product because we appreciate that we don't have all the answers. We appreciate that there are still some way to go. But while there is still some way to go, we also appreciate that we are doing a fine job. And I just want to big up and congratulate my staff, all the persons involved in putting together this debating competition. And I know that I've exceeded the 3 minutes. Yeah.
All the persons who you know contributed in one way, shape or form in putting this debate in competition together. You have done a marvelous job. I remember having a conversation with the gentleman in charge of Jade. I I suspect about having a faculty debating competition.
It was raised again tonight and I just want to put it on record that ladies and gentlemen we will be having a faculty debating competition. We're going to thank you. We're definitely going to need your assistance where that is concerned. But we have taken it a little further because you're going to know this for the first time that we wrote a paper to the commissioner of police asking for funding for a forcewide debating competition. So it will be done by area by divisions by area and then to have you know a final somewhere during the region of police week. The commissioner has written back. He has given some instructions. We are now working through those instructions and we're hoping that at some point in the near future we'll be able to host a forcewide debating competition.
Thanks thanks to Jade, you've always been here with us. We appreciate it. We know that it's because you like what you see here, why you continue to return week after week, months after months. But the truth is you have assisted in developing this force. Yes, you might see yourselves as assisting in delivering a debating competition, you know, debating match as the case may be.
But understand that there is a bigger picture. You're actually contributing in the development of your force, your Jamaica Constabulary Force. And I say your force because this is how I want people to see this organization as theirs. It does not belong to the Commissioner of Police. It does not belong to the Minister of National Security. It belongs to you, the people of Jamaica. You are doing your part in ensuring that the force that this country has is the force of which this country can be proud and a force that this country deserves. And I'm going to ask you to just put your hands together for the members of J.
So ladies and gentlemen, I've exceeded the three minutes. So I'm going to bring this to a close and so with the authority vested in me as the assistant commissioner of police with responsibility for training branch I hereby declare this debating competition closed.
Have a good night one and all.
Heat. Heat.
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