I WAS fascinated to read the article on the history of Bain’s Kloof Pass in last week’s Paarl Post.
What really caught my eye was the following paragraph:
“The convicts had job descriptions like labourer, hammer man, blaster or stone mason, and they got paid separately according to their work skills.
The money they earned was paid into a savings account and repaid when they finished their sentences.”
Can you imagine if this practical and beneficial practice was still in operation today and the large majority of our convicts could be put to good use (such as building RDP houses), and at the same time acquiring a life skill, and better still, be saving towards a new life as a free person once they had completed their sentence (instead of becoming a burden on family/state once released.)
What a positive way of “rehabilitating” prisoners and putting taxpayers’ money to good use for the benefit of society in general.
Grant Momplé