BASSETERRE, St. Kitts. December 18, 2010 (Labour Secretariat) - “Law and order remains a top priority for this Government as we remain steadfast in our efforts to eradicate those destabilizing forces which undermine the tenets of law and order in this country. We will remain diligent in undertaking tactical initiatives to ensure that stability and sustainability of our economy is buttressed by the rule of law and is fortified against criminal acts that would undermine the gains that have been achieved, particularly in this difficult time, thus making our readiness for recovery even more difficult,” (Prime Minister Douglas delivering the Budget address).
In the 2011 Budget Address, delivered on Tuesday 14th December by Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis and Minister of Finance, Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, the Ministry of National Security, Immigration and Labour received the largest increase given to any one of the Ministries, representing a 7.2 percent increase over the 2010 allocation.
$50, 367,032 has been provided to the aforementioned ministry for 2011.
This increase is admirable and speaks to the government’s commitment to the challenge of addressing the clear and present danger that the breakdown in law and order poses.
For the past three years, the Budget has been eclipsed by the looming dark and ominous economic cloud of crisis and uncertainty. These are challenging times, socially, politically and economically, for countries throughout the world. Businesses and banks have closed, unemployment has increased; some of the world’s most robust economies have crumbled under the weight of the financial downturn, forcing them to beg for bailout packages from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.
There is none who has escaped the brutal effects of the world’s most caustic economic recession in living memory. Civil disobedience has become commonplace in many countries as anger builds and tables that once abounded in food now stand scanty.
Social conditions and economic conditions often go hand in hand; economic problems and social disorders are no strangers to each other.
It is in the face of economic problems and social disorder that the government must continue to lead in improving the socio-economic conditions in the country, a commitment that it has promised, even with a scarcity of resources.
How society treats its weakest, most in need, most vulnerable members best tests its moral and ethical tone. Often times, it is these people, who are on the periphery of society, who feel helpless and unloved, who resort to anti-social behaviours. These are the people that the government must especially care for.
Recently, Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (E.C.C.B.), Sir Dwight Venner bemoaned the crime situation in the Caribbean, which he said is having a negative impact on economic activity and growth in the region.
Sir Dwight, who was the featured speaker at the opening of a recent two-day meeting of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) in Barbados, is of the opinion that the regional movement from agro-based industries to heavy dependence on the tourism industry has led to regional economies being vulnerable.
One doesn’t have to look very far to corroborate what Sir Venner has said.
The recent robbery of the tour bus carrying tourists in Sandy Point underscores this point of the fragility of the tourism industry. Cruise liners had already begun to stop their call at Port Zante to show their passengers distaste for that sort of nefarious activity. Tourists want to visit countries where they can be assured of their sense of security. Nationals too want to know that they can sleep at night knowing that no one will break into their homes and plunder their belongings.
The government, therefore, is moving in the right direction in allocating and looking for the resources to address the monster of crime.
However, money alone cannot do. It requires that all citizens and nationals and all people of good will work together to eradicate negative and self-destructive behaviours from our midst.
Education is of vital importance in curbing crime. The family, the basic cell of society, is the first place where children are socialized. It is their first church and their first school. Parents have the great responsibility of educating their children by teaching them about what is virtuous or base, just or unjust, morally right or wrong, morally good or bad or evil, morally proper or improper. Parents must not just preach but practice what they preach.
If parents take their roles of Daddy and Mommy seriously then the schools would not be inundated with so many problems of undisciplined and anti-social behaviour. Most anti-social problems that manifest themselves in the schools are rooted in the home. Parents must be vigilant.
At the end of the day, the undermining of crime must be a multifaceted approach. The security forces must be properly equipped and trained to carry out their work professionally. They must operate professionally, in order to earn the trust of the community.
