Offenders are urged to seize opportunities and make use of skills programmes offered in prison.
Subashini Moodley, regional commissioner of the department of correctional services for the Northern Cape and Free State, has urged offenders to seize opportunities such as skills programmes offered in prison.
She also said they need stakeholders to assist them in rehabilitating offenders. Moodley was speaking at Grootvlei Prison outside Bloemfontein where 40 offenders graduated from the welding skills programme and received tools that will help them start their own business once they are on parole. MerSeta funded the welding programme at the cost of R1.5 million. Moodley believes most offenders can be rehabilitated.
"When offenders get out of prison, they are not going to regress into criminal activities. The reality of life is that not everybody is the same. There are some inmates who have committed some really horrendous crimes and there are some who are not willing to change and do not want to change," she said.
Free State Police MEC, Butana Komphela, previously told the media that he didn’t believe in the parole system, as so many parolees commit crimes soon after release. However, Moodley said Komphela merely meant the department needs to review the parole system so that it has control over the decision of who should receive parole and who not.
Furthermore, three hundred and sixty ex-prisoners were given a platform last week to explain the problems and challenges they have faced since being released from various correctional facilities. Forty candidates were chosen from across the country to take part in the Correctional Services’ conference in Pretoria. National commissioner Zacharia Modise said ex-offenders often lack a strong support system and they are stigmatised by society.
"One of the challenges that these ex-offenders face is finding a job. We would like to hear from them what needs to be done. What would be important from the department is to hear what they think we can do in ensuring that programmes we offer to them while they are still in prison are effective," he said.
It was the first time the department held such a conference. He explained that they are also in talks with President Jacob Zuma’s office to minimise the criminal record period. Modise said ten years is a very long time for an ex-offender to hold a criminal record. He said they hoped President Zuma could speed up the process.
Modise said there are people who have served time in prison who are doing well outside prison and are contributing positively to their communities. – Refilwe Gaeswe
refilwe@centralmediagroup.co.za
