Section 57: Discharged Persons’ Aid Committee

57. Discharged Persons’ Aid Committee (1) (a) There shall be established a Discharged Persons’ Aid Committee consisting of such members as may be appointed annually by the Minister. (b) A Probation Officer not below the grade of a Senior Probation Officer shall act as Secretary. (2) The Committee shall— (a) interview every detainee, before his discharge, concerning his plans and prospects; and (b) use its best endeavours— (i) to produce employment for persons who have been discharged; (ii) to persuade a person who has been discharged to live by honest means and provide him with a loan or a reasonable sum of money to that end if the Committee so decides; and (iii) to ensure that a person who has been discharged is completely rehabilitated and gets all the assistance he needs to return to civilian life and settle therein as a civilised person. (3) The Accountant-General shall at the beginning of each financial year pay to the Committee out of the Consolidated Fund such sum as may have been approved by the Assembly for the running of its business. (4) The Committee shall at the beginning of every financial year submit to the Minister a report on its activities and financial transactions during the previous year. (5) A report made under subsection (4) shall be laid before the Assembly. [S. 57 amended by Act 48 of 1991.]