Durban – Patriotic Alliance leader, Gayton McKenzie, says no inmates have tried to escape his reform project.
“I want to thank the Department of Correctional Services, my team in Central Karoo and the inmates for totally fixing this house of a victim of GBV, house is brand new, no inmate tried to escape.
“Inmates should earn second chances. My heart is full,” he said with a red heart emoji.
Earlier this month, McKenzie announced a collaboration with the DCS to get inmates pay their debt to society by fixing dilapidated furniture.
He said inmates would use their skills learnt in prison to do actual work that would benefit communities, they would do this work as a step in paying back their enormous debt to society.
He added that he hoped and believed that this will get them job ready upon being released.
“This is such a bold and much needed step in the right direction, we will for the 16 days campaign against GBV fix a house of a lady who has been a victim of abuse and was carefully selected by social workers, her house is in an unliveable state and we will have it fixed totally with the inmates.
“My greatest honour I told the DCS is to pay for all the repairs that the inmates will undertake,” McKenzie said.
Speaking as a former inmate, McKenzie said he hopes the programme will be rolled out to other parts of the country and help communities see the value in second chances and inspire inmates to be job ready when they are released.
