Crime linked to unemployment

Speaking to the Opposition’s motion in the House of Representatives yesterday calling on the House to condemn Government for its failure to deal with current unemployment challenges and to present a clear and cogent economic plan to guide the country through the challenges, Karim asked, “ Are people going to invest from abroad? Will people here invest?” While quoting a recent article from Newsday on the number of crimes which was just over 20 at the time, Karim who was reminded by House Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George that the debate was not on crime, said the motion spoke about the rising levels of unemployment which was related to crime.

“Unemployment will increase if crime continues to increase.

There will be a higher and growing level of poverty if crime continues to increase,” he said. He continued, “There will be wage restraint and wage freeze if crime continues to increase. There will be deteriorating living standards because people will not invest if crime continues to increase.” Due to unemployment, many citizens, he said, were feeling deep pain, grief, hopelessness and stress in trying to eke out a living.

Not that he was against entrepreneurship, he said, “I support it, but when you drive through the roads, highways and by ways of this country, never before have you seen so many hawkers and peddlers on our streets.” People trying to make a living were cultivating behind their homes and putting them on little stands in front of the home to eke out a living, he said. Noting that the purchasing power of the dollar has fallen drastically as is evident in shopping, he queried how could Government talk about wage restraint when there was no work.

Responding to Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s contribution that Government has saved jobs and just 25,000 people were retrenched, Karim said, “retrenchment is not the only form of unemployment.” He also quoted Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste- Primus as saying that not every case of retrenchment was reported.

One of the most deleterious forms of unemployment he said, was a “new phenomenon” in this country called, “political unemployment.” He defined political unemployment as coming about by being fired without cause, such as, losing jobs and contracts due to deliberate redundancy, termination of contracts, and trumped up charges, among others.

“When you are politically unemployed and deliberately so, he said, “it destroys your character.

It is designed to shame and embarrass you. It damages your prospects of future employment.

It creates depression and loss of enthusiasm. It totally destroys your self-confidence.”