IN our NewsDay edition yesterday, we carried a story suggesting that the national crime rate is on an upward trend in Zimbabwe.
According to latest figures from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat), the country recorded 221 704 criminal cases between January and March this year, with the national crime rate standing at 1 460,6 per 100 000 people, a slight uptick from 1 459,9 per 100 000 observed in the fourth quarter of 2023.
This is a worrying trend considering that some of the cases are of a violent nature.
Of late, Zimbabwe has been recording a surge in armed robbery cases, which has seen even foreign nationals being arrested after abusing the country’s hospitality to engage in criminal activities.
More worrying is the number of youths involved in criminal activities.
This has been worsened by the high unemployment rate in the country, and the El Niño-induced drought.
It is in this vein that we call on the government to take action to address this scourge.
The government must ensure that it funds start-up projects, which will absorb some of the jobless youths so as to get them off the streets.
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The ruling Zanu PF party has over the years been promising to create jobs for the youth.
In the run-up to the 2018 harmonised elections, Zanu PF promised the electorate 2,2 million jobs, which it, however, failed to deliver.
A ruling party legislator recently pulled a shocker saying they had created over three million jobs.
However, Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate remains high, with more than 2,8 million people of working age currently unemployed.
The issue of job creation is a major concern for many Zimbabweans.
During the run-up to elections, the electorate is always promised heaven on earth, when we all know that it’s all hot air.
The government should walk the talk when it comes to job creation and equal opportunities for all.
Of late, only those connected to the centre of power are getting lucrative government tenders whose invoices ending up being inflated.
The consequences of having idle youths are being laid bare, with many of them turning to drugs and substances for solace.
To fund their activities, the youth engage in petty crime, robbery and home invasion so they can sell whatever they steal and buy drugs.
Many families are struggling to put food on the table and this has contributed to the high crime rate as some family members engage in crime to make ends meet.
There is also a need to ensure that the Department of Social Welfare is well capacitated to be able to identify exposed families and facilitate social aid.
