By Binta Jaiteh
The country director for Combating Drugs in Africa Gambia chapter, Lamin Jammeh has said that the high crime rate in the country is due to youth unemployment.
The country director made this remark during an interview with the Voice on Thursday. According to him, youth engage in drug abuse because they don’t have any job to do, which is the main reason why the crime rate is getting higher in the past years up to the present moment.
‘’Drug is dangerous and it is destroying the future of our youths, especially African countries,’’ he asserted
Mr. Jammeh stated that most of the killings that occurred between, 2022 to 2023 were related to drugs. “The recent killings in the country are alarming and worrying. Government should create more job opportunities for the youths so that drug abuse and irregular migration can be minimized,” he suggested. “I think as a country we should come together and work collectively because without a dialogue it will be difficult to fight against drug abuse. Youths need jobs for survival and if that job is not there obviously they will be idle and think of other ways of getting money illegally,” Jammehadded.
He said even though the government is responsible for creating mechanisms for job creation it is incumbent upon the youths to engage in petty business to create jobs for themselves and avoid drugs at all costs. He went on to say that drugs have negative effects on the health of users and when someone is addicted to it, it can lead to death.
“As a small country like Gambia, if the government cannot provide jobs for everyone let the youths engage in skill work, farming and others with that self-employment can be promoted and we will not have to rely on the government,” he underscored.
He observes that fighting against drugs is not as easy a task as people think while calling for all hands to be on deck. He said security officials, IGP, and the public should join hands together and address the menace. ‘’Our porous borders should be checked to avoid the entry of criminals into the country.”
