HEARTLINES PATRON, REV DR MVUME DANDALA, LOOKS AT THE ROLE SECOND CHANCES PLAYS in the rehabilitation of first-time offenders as South Africans engage in a public national conversation on positive values.

I come from a religious tradition that sees great value in giving people a second chance. It also has faith in the noble human capacity of those who are granted a second chance, to appreciate its value to the extent of remaining on the straight and narrow. Having said that, I am nevertheless firmly of the opinion that society needs to be held accountable for wasting second chances they have been given.

There will always be exceptions, let us not be so naïve as not to recognise that in some instances human nature even tends to view mercy as a weakness and therefore it can be open to abuse.

In Hong Kong there is church/government programme for young offenders called Operation Phoenix. If juveniles are caught committing petty crimes they are not sent to prison, but are given the option of enrolling in a certified rehabilitation programme for 12 months. If at the end of the time, they are deemed fit to return to society, all charges are dropped and they are given a clean record.

A similar programme that has also proved to be highly effective is available for adults who, having been sentenced in court, are given the choice of enrolling in a structured rehabilitation programme for a period of two years. Dependent of course on good behaviour at the end of the period - any criminal record is expunged. Instead of being written off by society, given this opportunity, these people are reintegrated into society with a new determination to make the best of their second chance and, free of any criminal label.

This process is reminiscent of the ritual of “ukugesa” or cleansing that that takes place in most African cultures. Having served time in prison, for anti-social behaviour, the incumbent is not automatically received back into the community, but is required to partake in a process culminating in a cleansing ceremony.

This ritual serves as a reminder that while he or she is welcomed back, such anti-social behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. It is a significant psycho/social process that allows such persons to be accommodated back into civil society and at the same time to appreciate the values that guide the community and that are expected of them.

Ignorance immediately labels such practises as magic or witchcraft instead of recognising it as a highly acceptable means of dealing with the inner core of the human psyche that more often than not responds positively to mercy.

In a society like ours where our prisons are overcrowded with dangerous criminals who deserve to serve their sentences, we must find ways by which Government structures can work closely with society. This – for many - will mean coming to terms with and understanding the significance of tradition in the lives of our people and, the pride with which they are owned. For others it calls for their religious communities to be more pro-active in designing social programmes that will assist in promoting opportunities for rehabilitation.

The integration of these practices will ensure that second chances are not given in a vacuum, but in a controlled environment were there is accountability.

- Rev Mvume H Dandala is General Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, and is the recipient of the Presidential Order of the Baobab (Silver) for his peace-making role in South Africa.

THOUSANDS OF BUSINESSES FAIL IN SOUTH AFRICA EACH YEAR, MANY OF THEM BELONGING TO THE POOR WHO WILL NEVER GET ANOTHER CHANCE.

But do failed businesses and fired employees deserve second chances? What can be done to make it easier for businesses to survive? Stuart Graham reports.

According to Statistics South Africa, 1396 businesses were liquidated in the first half of 2006. Although this figure was down from 1673 in the first six months of 2005, failing business are hampering South Africa's ability to grow its economy.

Rand Merchant Bank Economist Rudolf Gouws says bankruptcies are not necessarily a bad thing.
"Some companies close and others open up in their place," he says. This is natural for a market based economy. Keeping companies going when they are not providing products or services that people want is a waste of resources."

He says the government could make it easier for entrepreneurs to start businesses by removing bureaucratic hurdles.

"What we can do to make it easier for businesses is remove the red tape that is in the way," he says. "If a business applies for a licence it should be provided in days not months. Tax as a proportion of profits must be lower rather than higher. It must be made as easy as possible to start and run a business."

Thami Bolani, a senior manager at the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA), says people have often lost their businesses through no fault of their own.

He says SEDA does not turn away people who have failed. He gives an example of how the agency recently helped a businessman who used to own a transport company.

"The man owned two buses and a truck. He made mistakes and lost everything. All his property including his house was repossessed."

The man was forced to return to his family home in Mpumalanga. He approached SEDA after hearing Bolani give business advice on a radio show.

"He came to the office and said, ' look, I want to get back into business. How can you assist me?' We looked at his credit profile to see what could be repaired and we discussed a number of business ideas with him."

The man is drawing up a business plan and Bolani hopes to see him in business again by next year.

Bolani says the reason so many business fail is because most people are not taught adequate business skills at school. Later in life, when they are able to start a business, they are unable to do it.

"There are several reasons why businesses fail, but the truth is our people do not have enough skills."

Much of the information that can help entrepreneurs is in English or is on the Internet.

"Many of the people in this country do not have access to that information," he says.

Another problem is access to finance, which is especially problematic for black entrepreneurs.

"Black entrepreneurs do not have access to property as collateral," says Bolani. "This is a major contributor to the number of business failures."

Bolani believes that mentoring from successful business people is the best way to train emergent entrepreneurs.

"You can provide training but once the person gets started you have to be there to assist him. A lot of mistakes get made. "If you do not get it right in the first six months, your chances of survival are very slim."
Bolani says he has experienced a number of successes in his work at SEDA. One of these was franchise owner in Mpumalanga.

"The man was introduced to a number of franchise opportunities. Eventually he decided on a tyre and rubber business next to a busy taxi route."

The man was mentored and provided with training.

"After the first two months it was apparent that the business was a success," Bolani says.

The man is now looking at opening a bed and breakfast business for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Some businesses are luckier than others, when it comes to getting second chances.
Pikitup which recently went bankrupt was bailed out by its 100 percent shareholder, the City of Johannesburg.
South African Airways also benefits from having the parastatal, Transnet, as an owner. One economist estimated that Transnet had given gave SAA around R20 billion in two years.

Economists says SAA's bailouts from Transnet have given it an unfair advantage in the airline industry and caused economic inefficiency. SAA's rivals, such as Comair and Nationwide, are privately owned and have to fend for themselves.

But its not only entrepreneurs who need second chances.

Employees who have been fired are often cast aside by the business world.

Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson thinks everyone deserves a second chance.

"Give people a second chance if they screw up," he said in an interview recently. "Even people who have stolen from us have become, when given a second chance, incredibly loyal and valued employees. I don't know where I'd be if I hadn't been given second chances."

Zweli Manyathi, First National Bank's chief executive of branches, believes that people should always be given another chance, depending on what they did wrong.

"Would I employ someone who has been in prison? It depends what they have been in prison for," he says. "Some women go to prison for killing husbands who have abused them."

He says he would never employ someone in the banking industry who had been in jail for stealing money.

"In fact, when a teller steals money from a customer we go the full extent and sue him in his individual capacity. The teller broke trust which is a critical value."

Winemakers Ian Niewoudt and Gideon Theron, were given a second chance after they were fired by the wine and brandy company KWV for adding flavourants to a sauvignon blanc.

KWV had to dump 67000 litres of wine valued at R1 million after it was found that it had been contaminated by flavourants.

One of the men used a synthetic flavourant used in fruit drinks. The other used his own extract of green peppers to add to the wine.

Months after the incident, Niewoudt was given a job at Citrusdal Cellars and Theron at Montpellier du Tulbagh.
De Witt la Grange, the general manager at Citrusdal Cellars, told a daily business newspaper recently that his wine maker had resigned and that he had to decided to hire Niewoudt, someone he thought was a professional.
"Ian did make a mistake," he said. "What is the chance that he would in his life become involved in something like that again? He realises 100 percent what the implications would be. He has been given a second chance and I can assure you if he makes himself guilty of something like this again, he will not get a third chance." – Heartlines Features

SECOND CHANCES SHOULD BE COVETED - Jeff Coetzee

By Karien Jonckheere

It seems forever since Jeff Coetzee was using a homemade wooden tennis racquet to hit the ball over an orange bag for a net with his brothers in their back garden in Okiep.

The 29-year-old tennis star soon rose through the ranks and was gracing the top tennis stages of the world, progressing to the doubles semifinal of the Australian Open in 2003 with Chris Haggard and reaching the world doubles ranking of number three.

But a serious car accident in February that year, which claimed the life of his nephew, put any further plans on hold as Coetzee battled at first just to walk normally again and then to make his way back to the big time.

“To be honest at first I didn’t really think I would ever play again but I had my brother Ivan by my side who has always been good with confidence and getting my mind right and he was just telling me to believe in myself. My faith also helped a lot,” explained Coetzee. “I will always remember Ivan for that. He passed away two months ago.”

Coetzee fought to get back on his feet and within six months he was given a second chance to once again play at the top level, making his comeback at the US Open in August.

Asked why he feels he was given that second chance, Coetzee reckoned: “I think there is more to life for me after tennis. Maybe it is to tell my story or maybe to view the world differently because I certainly have changed a lot after the accident. I don’t stress too much about little things and I appreciate life even more now.”

Coetzee said he could simply not see himself not being involved in the sport and the memory of his late nephew and brother have been a motivating factor in his return to professional tennis.

“I hear people say I have changed a lot in the sense that if I have an argument, whether I’m wrong or right, I will be the one to forgive first because who is to know what will happen once you get off the phone, walk out the door or drive away. I take it one day at a time and my family has always been very important to me and they come first, even more so now.

“I have been through a lot in the last three years and have been tested in many different ways but I remain positive and thank my mom Mary for always listening to her baby and keeping on motivating me.

“I also think to myself I’m very lucky when I see what is happening in the rest of the world with the wars and everything. The other day I was playing in a tournament in Indianapolis and visited a hospital and fell in love with this young girl who has cancer. She was so keen on hitting a ball and would not stop. It made me stop and realise how lucky I am to witness this and that I have been given a second chance.”

Having suffered from a dislocated hip and lacerations to the arm and leg, Coetzee’s body will never be the same as it was before the accident but that hasn’t stopped him from still wanting to achieve what he did before. Among his long-term aspirations is representing South Africa at the Olympics one day. Taking it one step at a time though, his first goal is simple: “I want to be healthy this year for the first time in four years without taking time off with my hip. So far so good and I think I want even more to reach my goals now but if I don’t, at least I have given it my best shot.

“I would love to feel what it is like to play in a grand slam semifinal and to win a big tournament again. I have been in five finals already so I’m getting close.”

As for his advice to others that might be in a similar situation to the one in which he found himself, Coetzee said: “Never give up! Sometimes the river gets a bit rough in your life but at the end of the river there is a calmness and that is what you have to strive for. Keep believing in yourself and take it one day at a time.” - Heartlines Features

SECOND CHANCES GIVEN AND TAKEN

What actions deserve second chances, asks Karien Jonckheere, when children hero-worship their sports idols.

“I’m in shock. I’m in shock. I’m in shock. I would just like to say one thing. If you ever get a second chance in life for something, you’ve got to go all the way.”

Legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong’s words after winning the first of his seven Tour de France titles sums up what any sportsperson who has managed to make a successful comeback must feel when everything finally comes together again.

Having survived cancer to go on to win what is arguably the toughest race on earth a record number of times, some would say Armstrong is the epitome of second chances. Those are the stories everybody loves to hear – the ones of overcoming illness, or career-threatening injuries. The survivors of car accidents, like our own Natalie du Toit, who despite losing her leg, has gone on to break more world records than she can count in the swimming pool.

But then there are the stories that aren’t so comfortable to listen to; the ones of dope users and match-fixers and others who bring sport into disrepute.

Do they deserve a second chance? Should they be forgiven and given the chance to redeem themselves and their careers?

The case which always springs to mind is that of Hansie Cronje. Having accepted money from Indian bookmakers, Cronje was eventually handed a lifetime ban from cricket with then UCB president Percy Sonn making the remark that if the UCB had its way, it would not even allow Cronje to play beach cricket.

Yes, Cronje should have been punished for his deeds but was that perhaps not a little harsh when others involved in the saga could continue with their careers?

Staying in the sport of cricket, what would have happened if Ali Bacher had not stood by top SA bowler Makhaya Ntini when he was convicted of rape in 1998 and afforded him a second chance to clear his name. Had Bacher not been convinced of Ntini’s innocence, there would probably not have been an appeal where the flaws of the previous conviction could be exposed and the promising young cricketer acquitted.

Where it starts getting tricky is where drugs are involved. South African hurdler Shaun Bownes will be the first to oppose the use of banned substances in athletics – but that’s only because he’s been there, got caught, served a ban and was given a second chance to do it cleanly the next time round, going on to win Commonwealth Games gold.

When should an athlete be handed a lifetime ban and not given that opportunity? The current IAAF rules state that a first doping violation is punished with a two-year ban but a second one, ineligibility for life.

Such legislation is obviously important to eradicate the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport and some would argue that if an athlete is stupid enough to be caught twice, they get what they deserve. But even then, exceptions are made, former joint 100m world record holder Justin Gatlin a case in point.

He already tested positive for an amphetamine in 2001 and then on July 29 this year came the announcement that he had tested positive for Testosterone. Because of so-called exceptional circumstances in his prior violation, the American sprinter has now been handed an eight-year ban from the sport.

Others have not been as fortunate as Gatlin, however, and have been banned for life.

But there have been cases where the testing system has been flawed and athletes treated extremely unfairly, the case of British athlete Diane Modahl who took years (and all the money she had) to scientifically prove her innocence, just one of those.

It’s certainly a tough one with no easy answers. What makes one person deserve a second chance and another not? And if they’re given that chance, how do we know they won’t go and do exactly the same thing?

In the case of Cronje, we’ll never know, but surely there is still a chance to believe the best in others. – Heartlines Features