Latest update April 3rd, 2025 7:31 AM
Private Sector Must also help to solve crime issues
Dear Editor,
Reference is made to news item in which the Private Sector Commission (PSC) complained about rising level of crime (KN May 30). The private sector is right that crime has impacted on business particularly so in the Georgetown environs and government intervention is needed to protect the business community. But government alone can’t solve crime; we all must be involved jointly in addressing the menace. Crime solution is beyond government, party, business, and politics. The criminals have become bold; anyone can be a victim. The public must play its role and the PSC must also lend a helping hand. It is not enough for the PSC to complain. It should offer some recommendations to the government (Minister) on how to tackle crime that impacts their business. And the public should turn in known criminals even if from one’s family.
It should be on record that crime is not the only factor impacting on business growth, the private sector, and the national economy. As sociologists theorize, crime is tied to the lack of job opportunities. The very businesses that complain about crime also fail to create opportunities. But in all fairness to the private sector, the economy has not been growing to create demand to hire workers.
There are several factors that affect the private sector besides crime. Chief among them is the scarcity of money among consumers to buy goods and services. Unemployment has grown over the last four years and obviously there is less money circulating among consumers in the economy. Inflation has also ticked upwards while money flow has decreased resulting in people purchasing less items and businesses being left with stocks. Also, there is a lack of investment by the very complainants that fail to create jobs to absorb a growing youth population. The private sector has withheld new projects probably because of the attitude of the government that has not offered incentives to encourage new money into the economy.
It is true that the private sector has been under stress (if not direct attack from the government through various politically motivated investigations and charges and rising taxation to fund government projects). But one must not forget that large amounts of fluid money have been sitting in banks as private sector borrowing has been down, and people and businesses are not investing. There has been a fall in corporate investment. Capital expenditures by the private sector have been down. Manufacturing has also declined. Growth in the economy has depended largely on public sector investment and government employment. But public sector investment alone (infrastructure and make shift work program and offering free money) and the government hiring its own supporters will not provide long term sustained growth. At some point in time, the country will run out of free money as the experience during the 1970s and 1980s illustrated. The economic facts and common sense suggest an urgent need for government to do something to induce the private sector to accelerate private investment or else the country will see a return to the bust of the 1970s.
Without economic growth, jobs will not be created. Government must encourage private investment that is urgently needed to retain and add new jobs and to sustain national growth to absorb the increase in school graduates or dropouts. Without new investment, the economy will not grow much and jobs will not be created. There will be a swell in unemployed inevitably leading to a rise in crime as has been witnessed over the last couple years. And taxing the business sector to have funds for make shift jobs will force businesses to downsize – no new investment.
The government must offer inducement to the private sector so businesses can invest and increase production of goods and services to create new jobs. Government can offer incentives to companies (like tax waivers or even subsidies) to hire new workers. Jobs will provide social safety nets to the unemployed discouraging them to turn to crime. Hiring will increase productivity, which in itself will boost growth.
The above simple commonsensical measures will help to accelerate growth in the economy that in turn will help to address rising crime and other socio-economic problems. In addition to economically aiding the private sector, government must beef up security around businesses to give them confidence to stay open and to attract consumers.
Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram
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