By Bhekizenzo Zonele
Nearly 550 offenders and community book-club participants are taking part in the 16th Funda Mzantsi Championship, which opened in George in the Western Cape on Monday.
The annual programme brings together 299 offenders and 244 community book-club participants from all nine provinces for reading, debate and literacy activities.
Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald said the programme had expanded beyond a reading competition to include a focus on literacy, critical thinking and personal development.
“Funda Mzantsi has evolved to a vibrant celebration of literacy and reading,” Groenewald said.
He said the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) had also recorded improvements in Grade 12 results among offenders participating in the programme.
He said rehabilitation should form part of the correctional system alongside incarceration, with education and literacy programmes intended to better prepare offenders for life after release.
According to DCS, many offenders enter correctional facilities with limited educational opportunities, which can make it more difficult for them to find work or pursue further studies after serving their sentences.
The department uses reading clubs, training programmes and access to books and other educational resources as part of its rehabilitation programmes.
DCS said Funda Mzantsi had also helped some participants develop writing and publishing skills, with the programme aimed at encouraging new writers, poets and publishers.
National Commissioner of Correctional Services Makgothi Thobakgale said rehabilitation remained a central part of the department’s mandate.
“Yes, we incarcerate, but we also correct and also rehabilitate.”
George Municipality Mayor Jackie Von Brandis said the championship had become an established event in the city and had helped maintain interest in reading and literacy.
The programme also includes activities in South Africa’s official languages, while Nama, an indigenous Khoekhoe language spoken particularly in the Northern Cape, is being trialled for possible inclusion in the competition.
The National Library of South Africa (NLSA), one of the organisations involved in the programme, said access to reading and publishing opportunities should extend to people regardless of their circumstances.
“Today you might be an inmate and tomorrow you might be an author, and the day after you might be a publisher, and that’s what Funda Mzantsi strives for,” the NLSA said.
The championship runs until 2 October.
