[Photo: FILE]
Limited access to post-release support has come under scrutiny in Parliament.
The government has clarified how the Yellow Ribbon Program operates and how it is funded.
Responding to a written question in Parliament, Acting Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga said the Yellow Ribbon Program is not an inmate enrolment system.
It is a wider rehabilitation framework.
He said participation was measured through involvement in counselling, vocational training, life-skills development, employment expos and family engagement and reintegration activities run with the Fiji Corrections Service.
Program funding has remained steady over the years. It stood at $200,000 annually from 2022 to 2024.
It rose to $225,000 in the 2025–2026 financial year.
Actual spending stayed close to the allocation. It ranged from $185,917.61 in 2023 to $222,776.43 in 2025–2026.
The Ex-Inmates Livelihood Support Fund shows a gradual uptake of reintegration assistance. In 2021–2022, $37,205.10 was paid to 25 former inmates.
This increased to $67,852.53 for 48 people in 2022–2023. It rose again to $83,936.76 for 53 in 2023–2024.
It stood at $80,571.65 for 52 in 2024–2025. For 2025–2026, $70,987.19 has been spent so far, from a $112,500 allocation.
The Minister explained that access to support is not automatic. It depends on completing rehabilitation requirements.
It also depends on the approval of viable livelihood plans. The aim, Turaga say, is to link rehabilitation with structured reintegration and reduce reoffending.
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