And while the work program for gang neighborhoods would seem to be effective so far - our team felt like it was deja vu all over again. That's because the UDP also had a work program for these neighborhoods - and it ended up being very widely criticized - not least by the opposition.
But, now the PUP government is doing much the same thing - albeit with significant tweaks.
We asked about that PUDP parallel today:
Jules Vasquez
"I've seen these crews around the city cleaning up. Explain how many persons are engaged in this I guess from different gang areas and who us paying them, because it looks a lot like a page out of the UDP playbook that the state is engage and employing persons who have no other gainful mean of employment."
Hon, Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"I don't recall the UDP doing a project like this and I know you always say we are taking pages out of the their playbook, but any of these young men who were part of our state of emergency at prison can tell you for that one month it was a different experience than what they were use to. What they are use to is oppression and suppression and abuse. Thats a different entirely different approach that we are taking now. In terms of the employment, they are actually working."
And while the mission right now is to clean up their communities - what happens after that? Well, there is active training to turn disaffected youth into tradesmen:
Jules Vasquez
"There is a finite amount of clean up can be done, what happens after that?"
Hon, Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"Which is what I am explaining that this is a process and so it is every week on Fridays we will have different training sessions, skills training and so like I said whether its plumbing or construction, what have you, these young men have strengths and we have to find those strengths and get them employed in other areas. Yes the clean-up campaign."
Jules Vasquez
"From the public purse or privately?"
Hon, Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"It could be a combination of both, the chamber of commerce has already joined us in terms of the LIU coming on board to saying how can we offer our support as a business community."
That training is ongoing in the Pine Ridge area at this time.
