South Africa's prison authorities have proposed paying unemployed ex-offenders a social grant for a transitional period after serving their sentences. The grant would provide thousands who re-enter society every year with some income while they try to put their lives back together.
Ex-offenders with a criminal record find it hard to reintegrate into society when they're released. More often than not, they are returned to prison because they can't make it on the outside. Most ex-offenders are stigmatised and find it impossible to find a job. Research on former prisoners shows that finding employment is perhaps the most daunting obstacle facing released ex-offenders in South Africa.
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