Microcredit measure aims to help Algeria's ex-cons

2009-10-27

Former Algerian prison inmates will receive small loans to ease their re-integration into society and lower their chance of becoming repeat offenders.

By Fidet Mansour for Magharebia in Algiers – 27/10/09

[Fidet Mansour] Minister of Solidarity Djamel Ould Abbas (left), Prison Administration Director Mokhtar Felyoun (centre) and Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz (right) view prisoners' work at the fair.

Algerian prisoners who complete their sentences in the next six months will receive small loans to help them make their way in society, the Ministry of Solidarity announced last week.

An estimated 4,000 prisoners will benefit from the new measure, which targets lowering Algeria's high recidivism rate, reducing the burden on the country's case-clogged courts, and facilitating ex-prisoners' transition to an ordinary life.

Microcredit can assist ex-convicts with starting their own businesses and easing the financial woes that frequently come with having to re-establish themselves in society.

"Algerian prisoners often face difficult social conditions when they come out of prison," National Solidarity Minister Djamel Ould Abbas said on Wednesday (October 22nd).

About 170 prisoners have already submitted applications for the loans, and 147 of these applications are already under consideration, according to Ould Abbas, who made his remarks during a meeting with the Ministry of Justice to sign the microcredit agreement.

Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz said that initiatives like this are intended to "tackle attitudes that turn prisoners into serious offenders".

"Forty-three percent of Algerian prisoners are repeat offenders, meaning that nearly one out of every two prisoners commits a crime and returns to jail shortly after being released," said Director of Prison Administration and Rehabilitation Mokhtar Felyoune. Authorities estimate that this high recidivism rate is due to the lack of a workable system to re-integrate ex-convicts into society.

Beyond the planned microcredit initiative, prisons also offer training workshops and educational programmes to prepare inmates for life after release. A total of 61 trades, including handicraft-making, sewing, hairdressing, carpentry and ironworking, are taught in the prisons themselves. The Ministry for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises has issued qualification certificates to an estimated 3,000 inmates.

Prisoners may also prepare for the baccalaureate exam during their terms. In 2009 alone, the baccalaureate pass rate exceeded 50%, and in some places, such as Tizi Ouzou in Kabylie, 99% of prisoners passed the exam.

Authorities heralded these achievements at the fifth National Prison Labour Force Work Fair in Algiers, which was hosted by the Directorate-General for Prison Administration.

Attended by 1,300 prisoners, the October 20th-22nd fair showcased the products of prison labour. Honey collected at prisons where inmates cultivate farmland was on display, alongside plasterwork and furniture built by other prisoners. More academically-inclined prisoners presented dissertations and research they completed during their sentence.

Algeria's prison-labour products may soon find more customers.

"An agreement has been reached between my department and the Directorate-General for Prison Administration with a view to the use of regional chambers of craft industries for the sale of products manufactured by prisoners," Minister of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Mustapha Benbada told APS.