‘White card’ causes controversy

A COMMUNITY initiative to “document” unemployed job seekers by subjecting them to a background check, has been met with mixed reactions in Kimberley.

The initiative was launched by a community policing forum (CPF) and aims to conduct background checks on unemployed men, who gather at various residential street corners in the city in the hope of getting a “skrop werk” (parttime job), and issuing them with a “white” card.

A group of unemployed men that this initiative is targeting, said yesterday that they are still uncertain about the details of the initiative.

“We are just sitting here hoping to get a part-time job for the day to feed our families. We do not cause any harm to any of the residents. On the contrary, we can actually be a deterrent to those who might want to break into people’s homes,” the men said.

“We understand that people are afraid to hire someone off the street out of fear that we might hurt them. Those are not our intentions as we are only trying to make a living. We do understand the concerns of the community forum but they will have to explain why we should provide them with our personal information.

“People cannot just do a background check on us without our knowledge and circulate that information to residents without giving the necessary explanation.”

Others said that the process might hamper their chances of finding employment.

“There are some of us who do have criminal records but from many years back. What if that stands in the way of us getting any work? We know how hard is to get your name cleared once you’ve had a run-in with the law. Some of us are trying to turn our lives around but nobody is willing to hire a criminal.”

The chairperson of the Kimberley Station Community Policing Forum, Linja Allen, said yesterday that the initiative, which she emphasised was totally voluntary, had kicked off on Monday this week.

“We started the registration process on Monday. The idea is to issue a registration form for the men to fill in their personal details. We then take the forms to the police station where a background check is conducted on the applicants to ensure that they do not have a criminal record. The men are afterwards issued with an identity card that contains their personal details and the skills they possess. This will also make it easier for people who are searching for someone with specific skills,” said Allen.

She added that three unemployed men had already been issued with the cards and that they were also processing other applications.

“There are three people who have already been issued with their cards and we have more than 40 more applications which still need to be processed.”

Allen said that the system was beneficial to everyone concerned.

“We want to assist the men as many people are cautious of just hiring a stranger off the street because they are unaware of their intentions. Some of those who are unemployed are highly qualified. If we know someone has a certain qualification, we can also assist them in obtaining better work opportunities.

“On the other hand, we want to reassure residents and allay any fears they might have in employing these men. The community will be able to see from the card if the person they want to hire has a criminal record or not.”

She added that they did not want to exclude those who might have had a run-in with the law in the past.

“There are some men who were convicted for petty crimes in the past. We do not want to discriminate against those who want to be rehabilitated. We will, however, be discussing the criteria during a meeting next week. Matters such as the time frame when someone was released from prison, as well as the type of crime they were convicted of, will be discussed.”

Allen said they hoped to roll out the initiative to the entire city.

“We want the application forms to be available at police stations where people can fill them in and hand them back to us. We have handed out the forms but we also want them to be easily available to everyone. We will have a meeting with the station commanders to get their support in the matter.”

Police spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Dimakatso Mooi, said they were not aware of the police’s involvement but would investigate the matter.