Pretoria – Justice and Correctional Services Deputy Minister Thabang Makwetla has encouraged government and the private sector to employ former inmates.
“Government and the private sector must play a leading role in giving ex-offenders a second chance,” Deputy Minister Makwetla said on Thursday.
Speaking at the Ex-Offenders Conference, in Pretoria, he said one of the issues that could be looked at is how ex-offenders could be assisted to form co-operatives to exploit opportunities in business.
“It should be possible that, in the adjudication of tenders, more weight be placed on entities owned by ex-offenders,” Deputy Minister Makwetla said.
He said government is doing and must do everything possible to break the cycle of crime in the country by making sure that those released from correctional facilities do not re-offend.
There are numerous cases of successful rehabilitation and reintegration of former inmates who have established business enterprises and helped other parolees with jobs and opportunities for personal growth as well as development.
“I also want to make an impassioned plea to all Correctional Officials to remember that according to the White Paper on Corrections, each one of them is, first and foremost, a rehabilitator and a nation-builder,” Deputy Minister Makwetla said.
He said it is disappointing to learn that there are instances where staff perceptions of incarcerated offenders remain governed largely by unfavourable stereotypical images of offenders.
“Similarly, we should all join hands in dispelling the myth that a life behind bars, where your freedom is severely curtailed is a desirable life,” Deputy Minister Makwetla said.
He said South Africa’s constitution and democratic order is underpinned by the ethos of reconciliation over retribution.
“I urge communities to resist the temptation to impose a life-long punishment on ex-offenders by stigmatizing them, ostracizing them and perpetually judging them instead of assisting them to be fully integrated in our communities upon release,” he said.
Deputy Minister Makwetla appealed to offenders in correctional facilities to use the time they have to turn their lives around, develop themselves educationally and acquire vocational skills.
“Just as academic skills are needed to succeed in life, vocational skills are a must for inmates wanting to provide for themselves and their families after serving their sentences,” he said.
Deputy Minister Makwetla said the Second Chance Act is aimed at providing jobs, education, drug treatment, and other types of aid in the hope that offenders can help themselves, support their families, and improve society overall.
“We want to better understand the challenges faced by the ex-offenders’ community and to mobilise them to play a more positive role in crime prevention and crime combatting,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
