25 Aug 2015

Government is committed to provide a safe environment for citizens to carry out social and commercial activities with no threat to such enterprises, says the defence secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security Mr Augustine Makgonatsotlhe.

Giving a keynote address at the Botswana Prisons Rehabilitation Policy Pitso in Gaborone, Mr Makgonatsotlhe said through rehabilitation offenders could be assisted to correct themselves through the power of their own conscience.

He said for any meaningful rehabilitation to take place, the prisons department needs the participation of families and members of the communities in various formations.

“This is particularly true because the extent of rehabilitation is judged by how offenders who served time in prison are able to find their places back in the society after release,” he said. 

Mr Makgonatsotlhe added that to achieve re-integration, families and communities ought to be involved in offender correction, before an offender completes his/her sentence.

The commissioner of Botswana Prisons Services, Mr Silas Motlalekgosi said prior to 1958, the objective of imprisonment was mainly custodial and punitive in nature with prisoners exposed to hard labour.

He stated that offender rehabilitation prevents those who have committed crimes and juvenile delinquents from recommitting crimes and delinquencies by treating them appropriately in society.

Mr Motlalekgosi said rehabilitation helps offenders become self-reliant, thereby protecting the society and public welfare.Deputy commissioner of Prisons, Ms Ednah Balang mentioned that the concept of rehabilitation was introduced in 1979 and the main transformation came in 1980. 

Ms Balang stated that rehabilitation is the result of a process that combines the correction of offending behaviour, human development and the promotion of social responsibilities and values.

She added that the department of rehabilitation provides needs based programmes and services which include skills acquisition and other related programmes to facilitate human development.

The prisoner rehabilitation policy pitso was intended to seek input of stakeholders on the ‘draft rehabilitation policy’.  The policy was said to be not the final product and was open to different suggestions and comments. Ends