The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security has praised the Namibia Correctional Services (NCS) for its continued achievements in successfully rehabilitating and reintegrating offenders.
Lucia Witbooi remarked this at the 8th Basic Orientation Course graduation at Lucius Mahoto Correctional Service Training College in Omaruru, Erongo Region.
The NCS has rehabilitated over 10,000 offenders in the past five years through its Offender Risk Management Correctional Strategy and Offenders Management System since 2010 and 2013, respectively.
"In fact, I visited the female correctional facility in Windhoek, and I can testify to it, but not only in Windhoek, in Evalistus Shikongo, Otavi, but as a member of the Foreign Affairs, Safety, and Defence Committee of Parliament. I have also travelled a lot and visited their facilities, and I can testify about the facilities and those rehabilitation programmes. We want them to come back to the community with a skill as a better person and with a skill to make a living further."
Witbooi also commended NCS's food production programmes, which not only impart agricultural skills to offenders but also assist the government with drought aid.
"Namibia Correctional Service has been consistently supplying its sister department, the Namibian Police Force, with maize meal, bread, and pork for the purpose of feeding the suspects under its care. This is being done with the intention of reducing its food budget, thereby further saving the state on the cost of feeding inmates."
Witbooi also applauded graduates for passing the training. The training equipped the graduates with skills in the standard minimum rules for the treatment of offenders, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules.
On behalf of graduates, Melchisedek Phillepus said, "As correctional officers, we pledge to be committed to our calling. This means being pillars of strength and integrity in the face of adversity. It means upholding the law and maintaining order while treating everyone with respect and dignity. We have a role to play in the rehabilitation and transformation of those in our custody. This responsibility is immense and requires a commitment to excellence."
The ceremony was held under the theme Transformers, which speaks to the role of correctional officers as transformers of lives, agents of change, and guardians of justice.