Crime, the economy and youth: Facing our priorities
published: Sunday February 26, 2006
Don Robotham, Contributor
MERCIFULLY, THE election of the president of the (People's National Party (PNP) is over. However disappointed, it is the duty of all parties to fully accept and respect these results and not play dangerous destabilising games either publicly or, more likely, behind the scenes. A new Prime Minister is about to take office. We must, therefore, shift our attention from personalities to the national priorities which this new leadership must address.
CRIME AND GARRISONS
Without doubt the number one challenge which the new regime faces is the issue of crime. In the last three months, important actions seem to be under way at last. Major 'dons' have been removed from the scene without regard to political affiliation. Operation Kingfish has also put pressure on key drug smugglers. In addition, the recruitment of overseas officers to strengthen the leadership of the police force has gone forward, albeit far too slowly and bureaucratically.
The new model community policing complex in Grants Pen has also been completed.
It is urgent that all these efforts be stepped up. The Proceeds from Crime Bill and its implementing executive agency must be pushed through and operationalised without delay. And there are still other dons to be subdued. On the basis of this, the process of de-garrisonisation of our inner-city communities can be approached with seriousness.
No one is so naïve as to believe that dismantling can be accomplished overnight. What the nation wants is not miracles but the firm enunciation of a different, non-partisan, anti-garrison line backed up by practical deeds at the highest levels of political leadership.
THE ECONOMY
The second critical area for action is the economy. Indeed, in this area, a statement is urgently needed, today not tomorrow. The new Prime Minister must personally reaffirm the continuation of existing macroeconomic policies. This statement must be unambiguous and blunt.
We must continue with stringent control on public expenditure and the efforts to reduce our budget deficit and debt burden. Recent events in the economy have been quite positive - except for the sphere of employment generation. But all of this will collapse if we deviate from the current path of macroeconomic stability. There are signs - for example in the doubling of Housing Trust loan levels - that Mr. Patterson is eager to sweeten his departure with some populist goodies which could wreck the upcoming budget. Any such effort must be resisted at all costs.
The one area for a serious new initiative in economic policy is in small and medium-size (SME) business development. Some facilities for this already exist at JAMPRO and elsewhere. But they are in need of concentration, upgrading and re-staffing. This is not about any fantasy such as making ghetto youths into millionaires via a microenterprise boom financed by the state. Nor is it necessarily a matter of soft loans at all. Often what is required is broader business assistance in cutting though bureaucracy, in export guarantees and in technical, marketing and other infrastructural support. As this is an area of real vibrancy in our economy and a critical one for employment expansion, an institutional refocus of the SME sector is called for.
YOUTH POLICY
In crime and economic policy it is mainly a matter of implementing existing policies with vigor and consistency. In the social arena, however, an entirely new approach is urgently required. The chief issue here is the high unemployment rates among our youth and the crisis of educational performance in general and of young males in particular. Along with the growing economic inequalities and the consequent sense of injustice and alienation, these are the chief social forces feeding our high homicide rate.
We have about 671,500 persons in the 15-29 age group. The average unemployment rate for this group is about 30 per cent. We are thus talking about 150,000 young people (making allowance for those pursuing education and other activities). Moreover, there probably is another 100,000 who, although employed, receive very low wages. The majority are female. Of all the youth unemployed (15-29), 74 per cent have no educational certification of any kind, although 27 per cent have four years or more of secondary education.
These poorly educated youth live primarily in rural areas, where unemployment, underemployment and poverty rates are highest. This is the reality which lies behind continued rural-urban migration, as well as the spread of criminal gangs and banditry to the countryside. This is also the group which demonstrates and blocks roads at the drop of a hat.
It is urgent that the new Prime Minister act speedily and comprehensively to address the social disabilities and alienation of this group. We need to put together a social programme targeted at the youth population especially at young males in the 15-24 age group, rural and urban. Such a programme must not be implemented on a community basis or it will simply be subverted by the dons and captured by the party machines. It must be a national programme with individual access, bypassing the rotten tribal community power structure.
SOCIAL INCLUSION
We should begin with youth who are already employed, but lack the English and math to obtain formal certification about 100,000 persons. The programme should be organised and administered outside of HEART. HEART must focus on what it does best: formal training.
The aim of this programme would be social inclusion, very broadly conceived. Number one in such a programme would be a strong educational component which should include moral and civic content as well. Over time, as we consolidate programmes, we can expand them to take on the broader mass of youth, linking with a system of apprenticeship and job placement.
Programmes to assist our youth are not simply a social benefit helping to reduce alienation, desperation and crime. They constitute a critical economic investment as well. Our new Governor-General has already begun to rally the nation to put our youth at centrestage.
The new political leadership as well as the Opposition must support these efforts fully and go further. A major policy initiative, backed by significant resources, is required.
published: Sunday February 26, 2006
Don Robotham, Contributor
MERCIFULLY, THE election of the president of the (People's National Party (PNP) is over. However disappointed, it is the duty of all parties to fully accept and respect these results and not play dangerous destabilising games either publicly or, more likely, behind the scenes. A new Prime Minister is about to take office. We must, therefore, shift our attention from personalities to the national priorities which this new leadership must address.
CRIME AND GARRISONS
Without doubt the number one challenge which the new regime faces is the issue of crime. In the last three months, important actions seem to be under way at last. Major 'dons' have been removed from the scene without regard to political affiliation. Operation Kingfish has also put pressure on key drug smugglers. In addition, the recruitment of overseas officers to strengthen the leadership of the police force has gone forward, albeit far too slowly and bureaucratically.
The new model community policing complex in Grants Pen has also been completed.
It is urgent that all these efforts be stepped up. The Proceeds from Crime Bill and its implementing executive agency must be pushed through and operationalised without delay. And there are still other dons to be subdued. On the basis of this, the process of de-garrisonisation of our inner-city communities can be approached with seriousness.
No one is so naïve as to believe that dismantling can be accomplished overnight. What the nation wants is not miracles but the firm enunciation of a different, non-partisan, anti-garrison line backed up by practical deeds at the highest levels of political leadership.
THE ECONOMY
The second critical area for action is the economy. Indeed, in this area, a statement is urgently needed, today not tomorrow. The new Prime Minister must personally reaffirm the continuation of existing macroeconomic policies. This statement must be unambiguous and blunt.
We must continue with stringent control on public expenditure and the efforts to reduce our budget deficit and debt burden. Recent events in the economy have been quite positive - except for the sphere of employment generation. But all of this will collapse if we deviate from the current path of macroeconomic stability. There are signs - for example in the doubling of Housing Trust loan levels - that Mr. Patterson is eager to sweeten his departure with some populist goodies which could wreck the upcoming budget. Any such effort must be resisted at all costs.
The one area for a serious new initiative in economic policy is in small and medium-size (SME) business development. Some facilities for this already exist at JAMPRO and elsewhere. But they are in need of concentration, upgrading and re-staffing. This is not about any fantasy such as making ghetto youths into millionaires via a microenterprise boom financed by the state. Nor is it necessarily a matter of soft loans at all. Often what is required is broader business assistance in cutting though bureaucracy, in export guarantees and in technical, marketing and other infrastructural support. As this is an area of real vibrancy in our economy and a critical one for employment expansion, an institutional refocus of the SME sector is called for.
YOUTH POLICY
In crime and economic policy it is mainly a matter of implementing existing policies with vigor and consistency. In the social arena, however, an entirely new approach is urgently required. The chief issue here is the high unemployment rates among our youth and the crisis of educational performance in general and of young males in particular. Along with the growing economic inequalities and the consequent sense of injustice and alienation, these are the chief social forces feeding our high homicide rate.
We have about 671,500 persons in the 15-29 age group. The average unemployment rate for this group is about 30 per cent. We are thus talking about 150,000 young people (making allowance for those pursuing education and other activities). Moreover, there probably is another 100,000 who, although employed, receive very low wages. The majority are female. Of all the youth unemployed (15-29), 74 per cent have no educational certification of any kind, although 27 per cent have four years or more of secondary education.
These poorly educated youth live primarily in rural areas, where unemployment, underemployment and poverty rates are highest. This is the reality which lies behind continued rural-urban migration, as well as the spread of criminal gangs and banditry to the countryside. This is also the group which demonstrates and blocks roads at the drop of a hat.
It is urgent that the new Prime Minister act speedily and comprehensively to address the social disabilities and alienation of this group. We need to put together a social programme targeted at the youth population especially at young males in the 15-24 age group, rural and urban. Such a programme must not be implemented on a community basis or it will simply be subverted by the dons and captured by the party machines. It must be a national programme with individual access, bypassing the rotten tribal community power structure.
SOCIAL INCLUSION
We should begin with youth who are already employed, but lack the English and math to obtain formal certification about 100,000 persons. The programme should be organised and administered outside of HEART. HEART must focus on what it does best: formal training.
The aim of this programme would be social inclusion, very broadly conceived. Number one in such a programme would be a strong educational component which should include moral and civic content as well. Over time, as we consolidate programmes, we can expand them to take on the broader mass of youth, linking with a system of apprenticeship and job placement.
Programmes to assist our youth are not simply a social benefit helping to reduce alienation, desperation and crime. They constitute a critical economic investment as well. Our new Governor-General has already begun to rally the nation to put our youth at centrestage.
The new political leadership as well as the Opposition must support these efforts fully and go further. A major policy initiative, backed by significant resources, is required.
