BULAWAYO Provincial Affairs and Devolution minister Judith Ncube has appealed to well-wishers to build a home to accommodate ex-convicts released from prison after serving their sentences.
Ncube made the plea during a drug and substance abuse awareness campaign held by the St Mary’s Cathedral Minor Basilica, Bulawayo Archdiocese, recently.
She said she was approached by two homeless ex-prisoners who asked for food after they found their homes burnt down on their return from incarceration.
“Just recently, I got two young people coming to my office saying they were amnesty beneficiaries granted by the government,” Ncube said.
“The other one said he got into Khami Prison in 2009 and was released recently, but when he got home, he was told that his family home was burnt and there was nothing.
“He said he found an isolated building which used to be a bar, but it did not have doors and that was where he slept at night. So when he gets food from neighbours, he goes to sleep in that place.”
Ncube appealed to stakeholders to collaborate in building a halfway home for the inmates who encounter similar situations on leaving prison.
“I am appealing to the church and all of us here present to come up with a half-way home, which accommodates ex-prisoners who find similar situations in their homes so that we easily direct them to comfortable places where they will be welcome,” she said
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“They have been equipped with different skills and they are doing so well, but the biggest question is: where will they be staying while they do their jobs?”
Ncube also challenged the public to consider home-based programmes for survivors of drug and substance abuse.
In April last year, government released 4 270 inmates under the Presidential Amnesty in a bid to decongest the prison facilities.
