14 Oct 2013

Batswana have been urged to accept, accommodate and respect ex-convicts so they can be reintegrated into society.

This was said by Mrs Kebonengwana Mashaba, a lecturer at the University of Botswana’s department of sociology. She was giving a key note address at a two-day workshop organised for ex-convicts and members of society to deliberate on challenges faced by ex-convicts and how they could be empowered to rejoin society.

Mrs Mashaba said in most instances, people labelled ex-convicts with degrading names and made life after prison unbearable for them. “At times we push ex-convicts into going back to their bad ways and landing back in prison just because we don’t accept them as part of society when they are released,” she said.

She said it was even harder for ex-convicts to find employment opportunities, adding that even financial institution were reluctant to offer them startup capital to venture into business.

She urged the community and the business sector to come together and devise means of assisting ex-convicts. Mrs Mashaba said people should have confidence in the prisons services’ rehabilitation programme and believe that ex-convicts could be reformed and change their lives for the better.

She said the education and skills that ex-convicts acquired while incarcerated could be put to good use, adding that it would be a waste of resources for ex-convicts to remain idle when they had skills to support themselves and contribute to the national economy.

Also speaking at the workshop, portfolio executive officer at CEDA Mr Benjamin Kgabanyane said CEDA did not consider the applicant’s criminal background when processing loan applications, but only concerned itself with whether the business would be viable enough to pay back the loan.

He revealed that if an applicant was blacklisted he would be advised to settle his debts and then come back, adding that sometimes the board could see how to assist a blacklisted applicant. Ends