“At the end of the day, our young people emulate a lot of what they see. A lot of times we blame young people, but there’s a lot of emulation,” remarked Youth Development and Sports Minister
Minister Casimir laments the current crime situation in the country as most perpetrators of violent crimes are youth. He says a focus should be placed on getting youth engaged with the programmes the government has made available to them to bolster their skillset and employability.
“I think there’s a lot of priority that has to be given to some of the things that this government has already done in terms of technical vocational training to actually give the youth an opportunity to get involved in skills training. We’ve seen that a number of employers are complaining that there aren’t enough skilled workers in Saint Lucia,” he explained.
The Minister notes that some challenges posing youth development stem from apparent disinterest on the part of youth to engage with the wider society: “We have the lowest unemployment rate we’ve had in a long time, yet still we see a lot of young men choosing to be on the block instead of finding themselves with an establishment that is actually hiring young people.”
Casimir recounts instances when he has faced difficulties in keeping youth engaged in wider society: “I as Minister continue to struggle with finding employment for young people only to find out in a week or two that they are back on the block. So we really need to speak to our young men when we get the opportunity to, and our young women as well, and really deal with the scourge of crime in this country collectively.”
Casimir adds that there are numerous social interventions at a constituency level to divert youth from crime. The ultimate goal, he adds, is securing sustainable employment for the nation’s youth.
“In terms of social programs, you see a lot of programs geared towards young men, including ‘Our Boys Matter’. And every MP, they’re truly doing their best on the ground to really provide the level of support for employment for our young people to give them a better option.”
RSLPF statistics from previous years show that majority of homicides recorded stem gang-related conflicts perpetuated disproportionately by young people.
