"If the same government that is encouraging rehabilitation can say it cannot hire ex-convicts just like the private sector, parastatals and some individuals, then there is something wrong with the system," she lamented.
She said that a majority of employers do not consider that ex-convicts have been rehabilitated enough to be accepted by society. She laughs when she says that even her department is a party to stigmatising former prisoners. She said that in its job advertisements, the department specifies that those with previous criminal records should not apply.
"The moment job seekers are fingerprinted as part of the offer for employment, it becomes a nightmare for those with previous convictions because they will be thrown out of the race automatically."
She is worried that at times, a youthful job seeker who once fought and was arrested and charged by the police during his school days knows very well that his chances of getting employment are limited.
"The moment you get fingerprinted, your future is doomed," Masire said. She expressed concern that prison services are generally confined to the walls of the prisons. "We look after them as long as they are serving their sentences and we then release then when their terms are over."
Although they do not have direct strategies of taking prisons to the people, Masire was positive that there are attempts to fill the void. "Through our stakeholders like the Ministry of Education who help us in the education of inmates and NGO interventions like the Prisons Fellowships, we are really getting there," she said with optimism. It is a matter of time before the prisons reach out to members of the public to educate them about what they do.
Justice Motshidisi, an ex-convict who served nine years for attempted robbery at the Francistown prison told Mmegi he is not satisfied with the level of rehabilitation in jail. "The problem is that people are not taught sufficiently enough to realise that they can be accepted back by society. No wonder some tend to be wild when they get back to society," declares the born again Christian.
He said another agency is needed to rehabilitate prisoners and not the prison warders. "For instance, a social worker or chaplain cannot effectively render his duties once he is fulltime in the employ of the state prisons. It's only by the grace of God that some people left the prison walls fully rehabilitated as not very much is done."
Motshidisi learnt woodwork in prison and has a National Craft Certificate (NCC) in woodwork to show for it. He did a diploma and degree in church ministry through a long distance programme with a university in the USA. He said prison warders are not trained to rehabilitate inmates. "The warders are not trained to change people with criminal behaviour but they are trained to keep prisoners confined to the walls of prisons. You will agree with me that there are people who are convicted without even choosing to be criminals and these are the people who critically need help," he said.
Meanwhile Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Mothusi Palai agreed that some requirements for employment are a problem. But he stressed that it is important for an employer to check previous convictions of a potential employee so to have some background. He said that the issue of previous convictions is debatable and controversial.
"In terms of our job, we should be able to say that our department of Prisons and Rehabilitation rehabilitates people. It is a proper public policy issue that employers and the society generally should not ostracise ex-convicts," explained Palai.
He added that it is in the interest of a bank to know that a potential employee is not a habitual bank robber or a thief.
Director of Kagisano Society Women's Shelter Project, Lorato Moalusi-Sakufiwa said convicts need support in prison. She appealed to the authorities to look at the root causes of an inmates involvement in crime. "For instance, I may kill my husband and when the sentence is handed, the law may not even look at how long I suffered before I killed my man."
She said that when convicts are set free, they may have acquired skills for survival, but they may still commit a similar crime. She stated that this is a reflection that the system is not making inmates abandon crime. She suggested that ex-convicts must be armed with power sharing, conflict resolution and anger management skills.
"If we trust our rehabilitation process, why don't we believe that ex-convicts deserve a second chance?" wonders Moalusi-Sakufiwa. She said that inmates should be thoroughly rehabilitated so that they can fit in society. She appealed to the Prisons and Rehabilitation department to take its services to the people.
"They can connect with the courts or the Social and Community Department of the councils to follow ex-convicts back into the community so that we can accept them as part of us."
