Thoughts on the 'no nonsense' approach to prison
The Minister of Correctional Services is making big moves to make South African prisons self-sustainable and is earning support from many South Africans.
The concept of 'disruption' refers to the changes made to a particular market or industry that generally involve doing something differently. The idea is meant to ignite a positive change or cause a shift in the way things are done to achieve a desired goal.
One could say that the Minister of Correctional Services, Dr Pieter Groenewald, is doing his fair share of disrupting, and it is all meant for the greater good of South Africa.
The recent opening of the bakery in Westville Prison's management area is one of many changes that have been implemented. The aim is to make the correctional facilities self-sustainable and, therefore, less dependent on the state and taxpayers.
The SA government website says, "This initiative will also equip offenders with baking and entrepreneurial skills that can assist them in securing employment or starting small businesses upon reintegration into society."
But there have been mixed opinions floating around the internet. Some people are all for these practical and 'money-saving' methods, while others think they are discriminatory.
The bakery forms just one part of the larger self-sufficiency and sustainable programme. Other efforts include "agricultural projects, textile production, and other food processing initiatives aimed at enhancing offender skills and reducing the cost of running correctional facilities."
While many of the proposed reformative actions make sense regarding skills development and self-sustainability, some don't sit well with the publi, namely, corporal punishment for criminals and the death penalty.
Check out this video by Cool Story Bru, courtesy of Instagram.
Minister Groenewald's approach to reforming South Africa's correctional services has been described as 'no nonsense' and 'hard'. Here's what some South Africans had to say about it.
- "I love this minister."
- "I love this madala, he means business."
- "I love it. South African prisons have become places to go to have a good time. Well done, minister. I'm just not sure how he is going to manage the death penalty and corporal punishment thing. Also, the deportations - I wish he would get the deportations done and done legally because we don't want law-breaking law keepers! But, yes, to Pieter Groenewald. We deserve a minister who wants to clean things up and save our government money to redirect to other citizens, like youth and unemployment!"
- "I love it, nothing for free."
- "I agree with everything except for the death penalty, not when the justice system is still so corrupt, how many people will die being arrested wrongfully? Nah, fix the corruption before considering that."
- "Prisoners get more than our pensioners."
- "This man has the right idea!"
- "R11 million a day for foreign prisoners, but homeless citizens live on the streets."
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