FOURWAYS – Read more and receive updates on the debate, whether prison inmates deserve to be offered KFC.
Marnelle Greyling
There seems to be a lot of debate over whether prisoners have the right to receive KFC takeout food from taxpayers’ hard-earned money.
MEC Nkosi Malobane was giving out KFC meals to the Leeuwkop prison inmates during a Moroka Swallows vs Sundowns soccer game at Leeuwkop Correctional Services. The facebook post by the Crime Intelligence and Community Awareness (CICA) posted a short piece and photographs of Malobane handing out the meals.
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The question on everyone’s minds, according to comments seen on Facebook, is whether this is right or wrong. Some comments on Facebook say that inmates are people who steal, rape, kill and the like, and that they do not deserve even sponsored KFC nor have the right to a watch a soccer game.
The minority seem to feel there was nothing wrong with allowing them to watch soccer or to have given them KFC. South African society seems to be arguing that tax money should rather go to things like better medical care, improved schooling for their children and not to people who have broken the law and are still allowed to vote.
MEC Nkosi Malobane shakes the hands of all the soccer participants. Photo: Attributed to Crime Intelligence and Community Awareness.
People seem to think this will in no way help with the successful rehabilitation of inmates and they are not being used to improve the country, for example, to utilise inmates to help build housing for the government.
Children who work in ill-equipped classrooms, not conducive to proper learning, should be benefiting from South African taxpayers’ hard-earned money. Photo: Attributed to Crime Intelligence and Community Awareness.
“We can confirm that the meals served at the prison on 22 February were not sponsored by KFC,” said Gail Sham corporate communications manager, KFC Africa. Which begs the question … should tax money be used for these events? And, who do these events really benefit? Fourways Review has been unable to obtain sufficient comment from the Gauteng Department of Community Safety but will update the story as the truth is revealed.