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Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Reporter—
PRISONERS have been urged to utilise rehabilitation programmes offered in Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) to enhance life skills. This was said by the Minister of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa during Friday’s graduation of 757 prison officer recruits at Ntabazinduna Prisons and Correctional Service Training School where he was the guest of honour.
“I was in prison for 10 years and I came out as a tailor but do not call me a tailor now as I am a government minister,” he said, drawing laughter from the crowd.
Cde Mnangagwa said prisoners should take advantage of the correctional service offered at prisons.
“It is pleasing that the correctional slant has seen the service multiplying its efforts in ensuring that incarceration is punishment enough, hence the role of the service is not to further punish inmates but to empower them through various rehabilitation programmes that include moral, psychological, sports, and recreation as well as academic and skills training programmes,” he said.
Cde Mnangagwa said the government was committed to ensuring that the prison service carries out its mandate of rehabilitating inmates as expected in the new constitution.
The Commissioner General of Prisons and Correctional Service, Retired Major General Paradzai Zimondi, urged members of the public to assist ZPCS in integrating the ex-prisoners to the community.
He said criminal behaviour is a disease that needs to be treated.
“The rehabilitative ideal views criminal behaviour more like a disease that should be treated with scientific methods available to cure the offender,” said Maj Gen Zimondi.
He said the rehabilitation concept is aimed at preventing habitual offending by bridging the gap between the offended and the offender thereby making reintegration of offenders into society easy.
He said by accepting ex-convicts, society would help them begin a new life. Among the graduated recruits 494 were males and 263 were females.
Bongani Ndlovu