The Minister says the government is tackling the issue of gangs very seriously. This year, gang-related killings account for most of the homicides recorded. While acknowledging that social interventions are long-term solutions, Casimir says the best time to start is now.
“We continue to appeal to every sector to come on board with what our mission is - creating safe spaces. [We want to bring] young people together [through] organisations and youth groups, partnering with different projects and initiatives to ensure that young people stay on the straight and narrow,” the Youth Development Minister said.
The Ministry has also launched its Youth Worker Programme which is geared at bringing youth together in constructive activities. “We’ve had a youth worker programme where we have youth workers in every single community who are committed to bringing the young people together through meaningful activities.”
While the Ministry has increased its focus on youth groups, there is no guarantee that at-risk children will join. Casimir adds that the Ministry is also collaborating with the Ministry of Education to reach vulnerable students in the school sector.
“We’ve also been partnering with the Ministry of Education to ensure that individuals that are part of the school system from a younger age who are not Math-and-English-centred can be given the opportunity through NSDC [to learn]. [We want] to ensure whatever their ambitions are beyond their school life, they can be given an opportunity to benefit,” he explained.
Hon. Casimir adds that an important aspect of youth engagement has to do with economic empowerment. The Minister explained how the Youth Economy Agency is helping youth in creating their businesses.
“We’ve been asking young people to think of who they are, what they are most interested in, most talented in, and see how it is they can put a proposal together to see how they can get some form of assistance from this government. I think they have been doing very well in that regard,” he explained.
On Friday, November 24, a 19-year-old was gunned down. Relatives of the deceased have blamed gang warfare for the young man’s killing.