Relatório sobre as práticas de governança sustentável dos 30 maiores bancos mundiais revela resultados interessantes

LONDRES, Jan. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A Morrow Sodali e a Nestor Advisors – uma Empresa da Morrow Sodali, têm o prazer de anunciar a publicação da “Governança sustentável dos maiores bancos mundiais: Um estudo dos 30 principais bancos europeus e norte-americanos”.

O relatório examina as práticas de governança sustentável dos 30 maiores bancos europeus e norte-americanos. Para realizar o Relatório, analisamos vários documentos públicos e entrevistamos representantes de quinze bancos líderes, incluindo nove presidentes de conselho, outros membros do conselho e executivos seniores. Os entrevistados explicam as diferentes práticas e o motivo dos bancos optarem por elas. O relatório compara os bancos em vários pontos de dados e analisa essas informações em relação a um índice duplo de sustentabilidade e desempenho financeiro.

Stilpon Nestor, principal autor do relatório, disse: “A sustentabilidade é um dos grandes problemas enfrentados pelos bancos e sua liderança. Acionistas e várias partes interessadas, incluindo reguladores, esperam que os bancos sejam proativos quanto à sustentabilidade. Do ponto de vista estratégico, a “ecologização do livro” é o grande desafio, especialmente nos mercados com grandes setores “marrons”. Do ponto de vista do risco, alguns reguladores esperam que os bancos integrem o risco da sustentabilidade na estrutura principal de gestão de riscos e suas principais categorias. Eles também esperam uma perspectiva clara de sustentabilidade na estrutura do apetite ao risco. Para um bom desempenho nessas áreas, os bancos mundiais reformularam a governança e os pactos organizacionais existentes e desenvolveram alguns novos. Nosso relatório examina esses pactos e revelando pontos interessantes que, às vezes, chegam a ser contraintuitivos.

Dentre os resultados, destacamos a questão das habilidades dos conselhos quanto à sustentabilidade. Nenhum banco entrevistado considera prioritário ter especialistas em sustentabilidade no conselho. A prioridade é tornar seus atuais membros do conselho mais conscientes da sustentabilidade. Nesse sentido, os bancos enfatizam o desenvolvimento das habilidades do diretor.

Como um conselho se estrutura para abordar a sustentabilidade? Em muitos casos, isso é feito através da criação de uma nova comissão. No entanto, a estrutura geralmente reflete o nível de maturidade em relação às questões de um banco. Um ponto interessante do Relatório é que os bancos mais avançados no “espectro da maturidade” eliminaram os comitês especiais e passaram a discutir a sustentabilidade como parte da estratégia geral e do apetite ao risco.

Outro ponto importante está relacionado ao papel da administração em garantir que todas as funções dos negócios fortaleçam sua capacidade de entender a sustentabilidade. Esta é uma questão que toca todas as áreas de negócios de um banco, seja um banco corporativo, de varejo ou privado, bem como funções de risco, finanças e auditoria interna. É por isso que a maioria dos bancos mundiais criou comitês de gerenciamento sênior para supervisionar esse trabalho transversal. O tempo de serviço dos membros desta comissão é fundamental. Em 50% dos bancos, os próprios CEOs estão liderando esse comitê de coordenação sênior.

A maioria dos bancos também incluiu parâmetros de sustentabilidade na sua abordagem quanto à remuneração dos executivos. O relatório conclui que, nos bancos com melhores, as considerações de sustentabilidade têm um “peso” relativamente significativo, entre outros fatores, na determinação da remuneração variável.

Esperamos que este estudo seja informativo e que explorem pontos úteis para todas as partes interessadas. Clique aqui para solicitar o Relatório na íntegra.

SOBRE A MORROW SODALI

Morrow Sodali é a provedora líder de consultoria estratégica e serviços aos acionistas para clientes corporativos em todo o mundo. A empresa oferece para conselhos e executivos corporativos consultoria estratégica e serviços relacionados à governança corporativa, ESG, comunicação e engajamento com acionistas, inteligência de mercados de capital, solicitação de procurações, ativismo com acionistas, e fusões e aquisições.

Com sedes em Nova York e Londres, e escritórios e parceiros nos principais mercados de capital, a Morrow Sodali atende a mais de 1.000 clientes corporativos em mais de 80 países, incluindo muitas das maiores corporações multinacionais do mundo. Além de empresas públicas e privadas, seus clientes incluem instituições financeiras, fundos mútuos, ETFs, bolsas de valores e associações de membros.

Para mais informações, visite morrowsodali.com.

SOBRE A NESTOR ADVISORS

Nestor Advisors é uma empresa global de consultoria subsidiária da Morrow Sodali, especializada em governança corporativa, sustentabilidade e design organizacional. Trabalhamos com os conselhos e a alta administração de instituições financeiras, empresas e organizações sem fins lucrativos para aprimorar as tomadas de decisões, as estruturas organizacionais, os controles e os incentivos.

Totalmente integradas com a Morrow Sodali, as duas empresas fornecem à base global de clientes da empresa um conjunto abrangente de serviços de consultoria relacionados à governança corporativa, ESG, sustentabilidade e engajamento das partes interessadas.

Nossos serviços são de amplo espectro, incluindo avaliações holísticas que resultam em um redesenho significativo do sistema de governança de uma empresa, avaliações do conselho, governança do grupo, treinamento do conselho, gerenciamento de riscos, e desenvolvimento de políticas e controles específicos. Seja qual for o escopo, nossos serviços são sempre adaptados às necessidades dos nossos clientes.

Para mais informações, visite nestoradvisors.com.

CONTATOS

Elena Cargnello
Diretora Corporativa, Marketing
e.cargnello@morrowsodali.com
+44 (0)20 4513 6913

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8734712

Le rapport sur les pratiques de gouvernance de la durabilité des 30 plus grandes banques mondiales fournit des conclusions intéressantes

LONDRES, 23 janv. 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  Morrow Sodali et Nestor Advisors, une entreprise Morrow Sodali, ont le plaisir d’annoncer la publication de « Governance of sustainability in the largest global banks: A study of the top 30 European and North American banks » (Gouvernance de la durabilité dans les plus grandes banques mondiales : une étude des 30 premières banques européennes et nord-américaines).

Ce rapport examine les pratiques de gouvernance de la durabilité des 30 plus grandes banques européennes et nord-américaines. Pour préparer le rapport, nous avons examiné divers documents accessibles au public et avons également interrogé des représentants de quinze grandes banques, dont neuf présidents de conseil d’administration, d’autres membres de conseil et des cadres supérieurs. Les personnes interrogées ont fait le point sur différentes pratiques et sur les raisons de leur mise en œuvre. Le rapport qui en résulte compare les banques sur plusieurs points de données et analyse ces résultats par rapport à un double indice de durabilité et de performance financière.

Stilpon Nestor, l’auteur principal du rapport, a déclaré : « La durabilité est l’un des grands problèmes auxquels sont confrontées les banques et leur direction. Les actionnaires et diverses parties prenantes, y compris les régulateurs, attendent des banques qu’elles soient proactives dans ce domaine. Du côté de la stratégie, “verdir le portefeuille” est le grand défi, surtout sur les marchés ayant de grands secteurs “bruns”. Du côté des risques, certains régulateurs attendent des banques qu’elles intègrent le risque en matière de durabilité dans le cadre principal de gestion des risques et ses catégories clés. Ils attendent aussi une prise en compte claire de la durabilité dans le cadre de l’appétence au risque. Afin de tenir leurs promesses dans ces domaines, les banques mondiales ont remanié les dispositifs de gouvernance et d’organisation existants et en ont développé de nouveaux. Notre rapport examine ces dispositifs et aboutit à des conclusions intéressantes, parfois contre-intuitives. »

Parmi ces conclusions, la question des compétences du conseil d’administration en lien avec la durabilité a été mise en évidence. Toutes les banques que nous avons interrogées ne considèrent pas comme une priorité le fait d’avoir des experts en durabilité dans leur conseil d’administration. Leur priorité est de sensibiliser les membres actuels du conseil d’administration à ces questions. En ce sens, elles mettent l’accent sur le développement des compétences de directeur.

Comment un conseil d’administration se structure-t-il pour aborder les questions de durabilité ? Dans de nombreux cas, on crée un nouveau comité. Cependant, la structure reflète souvent le niveau de maturité des enjeux dans une banque. Une conclusion intéressante du rapport est que les banques plus avancées dans le « spectre de maturité » ont supprimé les comités spéciaux et discutent de la durabilité dans le cadre de la stratégie générale et de l’appétence au risque.

Une autre conclusion majeure concerne le rôle de la direction qui doit veiller à ce que toutes les fonctions de l’entreprise renforcent leur capacité à comprendre la durabilité. C’est une question qui touche tous les secteurs d’activité d’une banque, qu’il s’agisse d’une banque d’entreprise, de détail ou privée, ainsi que les fonctions de risque, de finance et d’audit interne. C’est pourquoi la plupart des banques mondiales ont créé des comités de direction pour superviser ce travail transversal. Il est essentiel que les membres de ce comité aient un rang élevé dans la hiérarchie. Dans 50 % des banques, les PDG eux-mêmes dirigent ce comité de coordination.

La plupart des banques ont également inclus des paramètres de durabilité dans leur approche de la rémunération des cadres. Le rapport constate que dans les plus performants, les considérations de durabilité ont un « poids » relativement important parmi les autres facteurs pour déterminer la rémunération variable.

Nous espérons que vous trouverez cette étude instructive, et que les conclusions seront utiles du point de vue de toutes les parties prenantes. Cliquez ici pour demander le rapport complet.

À PROPOS DE MORROW SODALI

Morrow Sodali est l’un des principaux fournisseurs de conseils stratégiques et de services aux actionnaires pour les entreprises du monde entier. Le cabinet fournit aux conseils d’administration et aux dirigeants d’entreprises des conseils et des services stratégiques en matière de gouvernance d’entreprise, d’ESG, de communication et d’engagement des actionnaires et des obligataires, de renseignements sur les marchés des capitaux, de sollicitation de procurations, d’activisme actionnarial et de fusions et acquisitions.

Depuis ses sièges à New York et à Londres, et ses bureaux et partenaires sur les principaux marchés de capitaux, Morrow Sodali sert plus de 1000 entreprises clientes dans plus de 80 pays, dont un grand nombre des plus grandes multinationales du monde. Outre les sociétés cotées et privées, ses clients comprennent des institutions financières, des fonds communs de placement, des ETF, des marchés boursiers et des associations de membres.

Pour plus d’informations, veuillez consulter le site morrowsodali.com.

À PROPOS DE NESTOR ADVISORS

Nestor Advisors est la filiale de conseil spécialisée dans les conseils d’administration et la gouvernance de Morrow Sodali. Nous sommes un cabinet de conseil mondial spécialisé dans la gouvernance d’entreprise, la durabilité et la conception organisationnelle. Nous travaillons avec les conseils d’administration et les responsables d’institutions financières, d’entreprises et d’organisations à but non lucratif pour améliorer la prise de décision, les structures organisationnelles, les contrôles et les incitations.

La filiale est entièrement intégrée à Morrow Sodali, et les deux sociétés fournissent à la clientèle mondiale du cabinet une gamme complète de services de conseil en matière de gouvernance d’entreprise, d’ESG, de durabilité et d’engagement des parties prenantes.

Nos services couvrent un large éventail, notamment des évaluations holistiques aboutissant à une refonte importante du système de gouvernance d’une entreprise, des évaluations du conseil d’administration, la gouvernance de groupe, la formation du conseil d’administration, la gestion des risques et l’élaboration de politiques et de contrôles spécifiques. Quel que soit l’objectif, nos services sont toujours étroitement adaptés aux besoins de nos clients.

Pour plus d’informations, veuillez consulter le site nestoradvisors.com.

CONTACTS

Elena Cargnello
Directrice marketing
e.cargnello@morrowsodali.com
+44 (0)20 4513 6913

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8734712

St Kitts and Nevis administration vows to continue advancing economy to provide greater social and economic opportunities at first press conference of 2023

Basseterre, Jan. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Terrance Drew, along with six other cabinet members from his administration participated in their first press conference of the year on 18 January 2023.

The press conference is one of the methods that Prime Minister Drew’s administration will use to update citizens and residents on matters of national importance such as the 2022 Budget and the upcoming plans and budget for this year. The St Kitts and Nevis government has reiterated several times how it wants to lead with transparency and integrity – ensuring that the twin-island Federation is kept abreast of the administration’s decision-making process and accomplishments during its tenure.

In his opening address, Prime Minister Drew, noted that the government of St Kitts and Nevis continues to work around the clock to fufill the pledges made during the 2022 election campaign.

“These pledges were based on seven foundational pillars including Food Security, Energy Transition, Economic Diversification, Sustainable Industries, Creative Economy. COVID-19 Recovery and Social Protection.

“We made a pledge to govern with transparency, accountability and integrity and we intend to continue in that vein. We want to improve the quality of life and health of our people as these are the founding principles and remain the bedrock of our administration.”

The Prime Minister continued and said, “We are committed to serve with the sole purpose that every policy, every plan and every project is undertaken for the betterment of all, our mission is to transform the lives of people by advancing our economy in a way that will provide greater social and economic opportunities.”

As the Minister of Health and Social Security, Prime Minister Drew unveiled three major developments to strengthen the quality of healthcare in St Kitts and Nevis. These are Universal Health Care, Corporatization of the Joseph N. France General Hospital and strengthening the relations with third-party organizations.

Minister Drew asserted that Universal Health Care remains a priority for the government of St Kitts and Nevis and added that the government is geared to start their Universal Health Care, which will go a long way in opening up access to quality healthcare for all Kittians and Nevisians.

The World Health Organisation has described Universal health coverage as a means for all people to have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship.

The second major development, the corporatization of the Joseph N. France General Hospital – a premier health institution in the country, is aimed to increase the hospital’s efficiency and allow for the proper management of the hospital’s affairs.

The Prime Minister noted that while Joseph N France General Hospital has its strengths and weaknesses, there is always room for improvement, and it is for this reason that the government has been working towards developing its tertiary and secondary healthcare.

He thanked healthcare workers who continue to work tirelessly to serve those in need and hailed the dedication and commitment of medical professionals who served day and night during the unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic – an honorarium has been dedicated to them.

Talking about the challenges these workers face while performing their duties, including oppression and verbal abuse, the Prime Minister suggested hosting an open forum to communicate these issues.

The government of St Kitts and Nevis is also looking to recruit new doctors, nurses, technicians, therapists and technologists. Along with this, a principal nursing officer will be appointed, a position that has been vacant for the last seven years.

“Two lines of action are now ongoing; stabilization and transformation,” stated Prime Minister Drew as he expressed the requirements of new staff, new systems, a new culture of empathy and adequate resources.

The country’s eye clinic will receive new state-of-the-art equipment to the value of EC$700,000.00.

On the matter of strengthening relationships with third party stakeholders, the Prime Minister added that St Kitts and Nevis is looking to revitalize relationships with the likes of CARPHA (the Caribbean Public Health Agency), PAHO (Pan American Health Organization), and several NGOs such as PALS (Pediatric Assistance League of St Kitts). 

 

A deep dive into the country’s evolving Citizenship by Investment Programme

The Prime Minister hailed the efficient leadership of the new Head of the Citizenship by Investment Unit of St Kitts and Nevis, Michael Martin. The Prime Minister asked the Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, the Honourable Garth Wilkin to update on changes recently made to the Citizenship by Investment Programme’s legislation on 23 of December, 2022 which changes were made to remove any loopholes used by developers.

Attorney General Garth Wilkin said, “What developers are required to do now, is that they have to place money received from the sale of real estate units into an escrow account and the administration of the citizenship by investment programme will monitor the progress of the projects such that a developer does not sell 20 units for example and not build anything.

New regulations allow developers to prove that developments are indeed on track, and only then will the money be released from the escrow account. This release of funds will be done in phases as certain phases of the building are completed. The new regulations have also been set up to monitor the distribution of units processed.

Minister Wilkin added, “If you were a developer and you believe that you can sell 1000 units or 1000 buildings in your real estate project, you will not be given access to sell those 1000 units at the beginning of your project like it was done in the past, what you will do is you will be given a certain amount of units, for example, 50, you will be able to put those on the market and until you complete a certain phase of your selling, you will not get the next 50, so there will be a staggered approach to the actual issuance of the units that you can sell on the market.”

He said that all of this was done to prevent what previously occurred in the past where real estate developers were selling off plans and building one part of the project and not completing it in its entirety resulting in what he termed “white elephants”.

The Government is focused on ensuring that the citizenship by investment offering provides value to both the investors and the citizens of the country.

The country’s Citizenship by Investment Programme has been undergoing an evolution, setting a bold and new tone for the industry as a whole. St Kitts and Nevis is once again leading the way for the investment immigration industry – adding a new layer of integrity to truly accelerate the country’s economic diversification, and empower and prosper local citizens while creating an enriching base for intelligent investors.

PR St Kitts and Nevis
Government of St. Kitts and Nevis
+44 (0) 207 318 4343
mildred.thabane@csglobalpartners.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8734548

Leading Singapore Law Enforcement Agency Awards Cellebrite with $14 Million Agreement for Cellebrite’s advanced extraction solution

PETAH TIKVA, Israel and TYSONS CORNER, Va., Jan. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cellebrite (Nasdaq: CLBT), a global leader in Digital Intelligence (DI) solutions for the public and private sectors, today announced a five-year agreement with a national police agency in Singapore, which will use Cellebrite’s collect & review solution, Premium, to help lawfully expedite collection of digital evidence.

The 5-year contract creates a strong partnership between the customer and Cellebrite, enabling us to be a closely integrated partner, both in the areas of knowledge and competencies development, and in the technology space associated with top-tiered digital investigations and intelligence.

This engagement is also notable due to Cellebrite equipping the agency with the most advanced extraction solution and direct and immediate access to Cellebrite’s Advanced Services team

“We are thrilled to partner with this large law enforcement agency and progress our joint mission to enhance public safety and build safer communities,” said Arthur Veinstein, President, Cellebrite International. “This contract is a true testament to Cellebrite being an industry leader. I am confident that our DI solutions will help our customer in its digital transformation journey.”

About Cellebrite

Cellebrite’s (NASDAQ: CLBT) mission is to enable its customers to protect and save lives, accelerate justice, and preserve privacy in communities around the world. We are a global leader in Digital Intelligence solutions for the public and private sectors, empowering organizations in mastering the complexities of legally sanctioned digital investigations by streamlining intelligence processes. Trusted by thousands of leading agencies and companies worldwide, Cellebrite’s Digital Intelligence platform and solutions transform how customers collect, review, analyze and manage data in legally sanctioned investigations. To learn more visit us at www.cellebrite.comhttps://investors.cellebrite.com, or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Cellebrite.

Media

Victor Cooper
Public Relations and Corporate Communications Director
+1 404 804 5910
Victor.cooper@cellebrite.com

Investors

Investor Relations
investors@cellebrite.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8734108

President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers eulogy at memorial service of Dr Frene Ginwala, 24 Jan

President to pay tribute to late Dr Frene Ginwala at Official Memorial Service

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Tuesday, 24 January 2023, deliver the eulogy at the Official Memorial Service in Johannesburg in honour of the late founding Speaker of democratic Parliament, Dr Frene Ginwala.

Dr Ginwala passed away at her at home in Cape Town on 12 January 2023, at the age of 90, following a stroke two weeks earlier.

The Official Memorial Service will serve as a national tribute to the late Speaker.

Source: Government of South Africa

Russia-Ukraine conflict should end through diplomacy, negotiation – Pandor

International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, has reiterated South Africa’s position that the only path to peace is through diplomacy, dialogue and commitment to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

This includes the principle that all Member States will endeavour to settle disputes by peaceful means.

“It is important that I mentioned on behalf of South Africa, our sincere wish that the conflict currently between Russia and Ukraine will soon be brought to a peaceful end through diplomacy and negotiation, as we believe this is the desire of all of us in the globe,” she said.

The Minister was speaking in Pretoria on Monday where she was hosting her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, who is in the country for bilateral talks.

“The current global geopolitical tensions clearly signalled the need for us to consider creating institutional mechanisms that will have the stature, form and global trust to promote and support global peace and security.”

She believes that BRICS, an acronym for the combined economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, should play a proactive role in emerging deliberations on the form that these international global mechanisms might take.

“We must ensure that BRICS is part of a redesigned global framework. For us multilateralism lies at the heart of the biggest issues facing the world today.”

In addition, she said more efforts should be directed at promoting peace and security, fair trade and human rights; to ending and preventing health epidemics, tackling the challenges of climate change and taking measures to protect the environment.

“All of these issues require global cooperation as they go beyond individual countries and cultures. As the African continent, we have witnessed and overcome many conflicts.

“We know that the conflicts confronting Africa today have disappeared from international mention, but we are still experiencing devastating effects on many countries on the continent, both in the political sphere and economic effects.”

She said Africa has undertaken the endeavour to work towards a peaceful resolution of all conflicts, use diplomacy, and the search for peace as a route to resolving disputes within the context of the African Union (AU).

“Therefore, we are fully alert that conflict wherever it exists in the world impacts negatively on all of us and as the developing world, it impacts us, particularly as the African continent. This is why as South Africa, we consistently articulate that we will always stand ready to support the peaceful resolution of conflicts in the continent and throughout the globe.”

In 2022, Pandor said the two countries commemorate 30 years of diplomatic relations.

The Ministers also discussed views on how both nations can work together to strengthen the already good relations that the countries enjoy.

She also recalled how Members of the Soviet Union provided to the country, particularly Russia, during the fight against apartheid.

“I’m really proud that we enjoy excellent diplomatic relations with your country, which we regard as a valued partner. Our bilateral relations with your country consist of relations in the political, economic, social, defence, and security spheres.”

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Pandor said there are several bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding that were signed with a comprehensive spectrum of sectors.

“I'm really pleased that the Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) remains an active platform for coordinating our bilateral relations, and that ITEC continues to meet regularly and has made considerable progress in deepening the cooperation between South Africa and the Russian Federation.”

She also spoke about the countries’ growing economic bilateral relationship, both in terms of trade and investments.

“However, it is my view that both our countries can and must do more to develop and capitalise on opportunities to increase our cooperation in the economic sphere.”

Pandor told the delegates that she was pleased South Africa has been a beneficiary of significant bankable project support from the BRICS Bank.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Correctional facilities can produce educated, skilled ex-offenders

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola says correctional centres can become a hub for education and skills development for all inmates.

The Minister was speaking during the release of inmates' matric results for the 2022 academic year in a ceremony held at St Albans Correctional Centre in the Eastern Cape.

The class of 2022, both part time and full time, scored a combined 85.5% pass rate this year – up by some 10.5% compared to 2021.

“[All] the sentenced inmates must take part in education, training and skill acquiring initiatives. This will be in line with our efforts of striving towards access to education for all. We don’t have to accept a situation where inmates will refuse to be trained by proclaiming that they have a right not to participate in education.

“Let the doors of learning be opened and every inmate must be made to strive to acquire education, and move from a sense of hopelessness to a sense of saying 'with education, I will be an upright citizen and my full potential will be unleashed.'

“All our centres must not only support learning, but they should promote it,” he said.

The Minister emphasised that inmates who receive education stand to better the communities they are released into and this can restore “inmates’ self-esteem and social competence”.

“A bright future becomes more tangible if [inmates] pursue education as a form of rehabilitation. Upon returning back to society, they become different people.

“Education in correctional centres has long term benefits for the country, ex-offenders with no or little education have lower prospects of finding gainful employment and they resort to crime as they cannot overcome the myriad of barriers they have to contend with,” he said.

Lamola urged society to refrain from “discriminating against ex-offenders and denying them opportunities in areas and trades where they are best candidates”.

Every year, the department trains inmates in skills such as plumbing, tiling, brick laying and mechanics to provide them with a skill to take into the world once they leave correctional facilities.

“Whilst we understand that employers can use their discretion when hiring people based on an objective and just criteria, we must also remember that there is no law which says we should not employ people on account of a criminal record.

“Former inmates, be upfront in your applications for jobs, state that you are someone who previously wronged the community, but show that correctional services has reformed you.

“In the same breath, those who reluctantly give opportunities to our ex-offenders to offer their labour, we say, don’t under pay them, the law has already punished them, so don’t further punish them. They deserve the same treatment as everyone else in society,” he said.

Turning to those who passed matric in the correctional services system in 2022, Lamola congratulated them for their hard work and dedication.

“I want to take this opportunity and congratulate all learners who excelled in their results. You worked hard, and you will serve as a great motivator for the 2023 class who we are hopeful will surpass your achievements.

“Your journey for education continues. We hope you will further your studies. Those who could not make it - try harder this year and you will eventually succeed,” the minister said.

Source: South African Government News Agency