Staff members are going home, but the programme is not being shut down. This confirmation from Minister of Defence, Wayne Sturge, amid reports that the Civilian Conservation Corps programme, is being cancelled. Rynessa Cutting has the details.
00:00Reports are that over 70 of the just over 100 CCC employees will not have their contracts renewed.
00:08In light of the fact that the program had been paused under the previous administration,
00:13Minister Sturge says the decision was taken given that government has been spending approximately $2.5 million a month to keep the program running,
00:22despite the fact that the last intake of students was in January and the next intake is carded for January 2026.
00:31The Minister says the plan is to transfer the CCC and other such programs from the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs to the Ministry of Defence and the process is already underway.
00:43Back in February, Cabinet appointed two committees, one aimed at optimizing the CCC
00:48and another committee to investigate allegations of misconduct within the Civilian Conservation Corps.
00:55Contacted for a comment today, former Youth Development Minister Foster Cummings told TV6 News,
01:01the first committee's report was submitted in late March 2025 and preparations were being made for the intake of students,
01:10utilizing the recommendations contained therein.
01:13He confirms that the employment arrangement of CCC staff was not disrupted during the investigation period.
01:19Cummings further explains that there is usually one annual intake at the CCC,
01:25as it is a nine-month program which caters for the training of 1,000 young people between the ages 16 to 25.
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