Golding

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has expressed concern regarding insufficient efforts to inculcate correct morals and values in children in an effort to mitigate against antisocial behaviours in Jamaica.

Golding was addressing the Women's Leadership Initiative (WLI) annual Child Month fund-raising luncheon at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston yesterday.

"If we don't create an enabling society for our children, then we will have to spend a lot of money doing retrofitting work," said Golding.

"We need to acknowledge, come face to face with the fact that as a society, we have short-changed our children," he said.

Welfare of children, organisations neglected

The prime minister conceded that the Government, because of budgetary constraints, often neglects the welfare of children and relevant social-intervention organisations.

Golding was speaking against the background that yearly, youth were arrested for major crimes such as murder, shooting, robbery and rape.

The Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica 2007 shows that 274 persons aged 12 to 25 were arrested for murder last year.

Golding said if proper morals and values were passed on to children, they would become great human beings. Resultantly, he said, less funds would be spent on building remedial institutions and prisons to address inappropriate behaviour.

WLI offers assistance to organisations such as the Voluntary Organisation for the Upliftment of Children based in Kingston.