Minister's Budget Speech: discussion

Meeting report

CORRECTIONAL SERVICES PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
23 May 2000
MINISTER'S BUDGET SPEECH

Committee Chairperson: Ms Capa

Relevant Documents
National Expenditure Survey (Correctional Services)
Criteria for Committee: Trips and Tours
Minister's Budget Speech (attached to end of these minutes)

[As more than half of the committee members did not have a copy of the Budget Speech, the Chairperson said that the speech would be obtained and circulated amongst the members]

The Chairperson said the main purpose of the meeting was to debate the Minister's speech. In debating the Minister's speech, the chairperson advised the members to link it with what the department promised to deliver according to time frames. In addition to this question of time frame, Ms Capa added that it is important for committee members to know who will be dealing with what as far as the promises that the department makes so as to be able to call that person to account when the need arises.

Ms Capa illustrated her point on the importance of timeframes and knowing the official responsible for implementation by relating it to Item No. 1 of the Expenditure Survey, which read "The Anti-corruption unit is being amalgamated with the Office of the inspecting judge". She said this has not been done yet and no committee member knows who is responsible for this amalgamation so as to be called to account for the experienced delays in this process.

She then invited the members to debate the Minister's speech and to reflect on the issues that she has raised.

Discussion
Mr Bloem (ANC) asked if this Anti-corruption unit is in place or not. Ms Capa replied that she did not have a clue herself. She said she had come across this information that there is an Anti-corruption unit at a workshop that she had attended. What she knows is that its existence is registered in the National Expenditure Survey, though it is unknown by committee members.

Mr Durand (NP) told the members that it is important that members identify critical issues within the departmental strategy that are not being addressed. He said there are many critical areas, for example, overcrowding in prisons, capacity of prisons, delays in Electronic Monitoring System. He said until the committee has learnt to identify and pursue these critical areas, it will not be of any use to talk about them in an ad hoc basis and thus leave them unfinished. Mr Durand proposed that a quarterly report by the department on the progress of the 'would be' identified critical issues will have to be solicited from the department. In that way, Mr Durand added, the committee will be exercising its oversight responsibility.

He raised his concern about the committee's tendency to hanker after the past (he was referring to the Sithole issues that the committee is fond of tackling). He said the past is currently being dealt with by the appropriate institutions.

In responding to Mr Durand's comments, Ms Capa said what is important for the members is to familiarise themselves with the "when" and "who" question - she said this means the committee members should be able to bring the department on board as to when, and by whom, the proposed activities are to be implemented. And this is basically capturing Mr Durand's concern.

The Chairperson further proposed that the committee should have a particular programme in dealing with the challenges raised above. She proposed that the committee should be divided into different subcommittees that will have to deal with these critical issues (for example overcrowding in prisons, juveniles in prisons, health issues) and the relevant policies on each. In that way, the committee will be using its members according to their capabilities and interests for the benefit of the committee as a whole. Lastly, she said this would improve oversight and encourage a hands-on approach.

Ms Sosibo (ANC) agreed that this was a good proposal. However, she said there might be some difficulties in identifying what members' interests are. In response to that, Ms Capa said establishing members' interests might not be that difficult. She said members' questions in discussions gave a clue to their interests.

Ms Dlamini (ANC) commended the idea of allocating members into different subcommittees, she said members should be given enough time so as to familiarise themselves with the necessary documentation.

The Chairperson responded that this 'new approach' needs to be adopted as a matter of urgency. There are a lot of issues that the committee has identified as being a priority, but are still unresolved because of the lack of a proper approach or a programme of action. Delaying this proposed programme (of dividing the committee into subcommittees) would create an accumulation of critical issues that the committee would have to tackle within a very short space of time.

In the middle of this discussion, Ms Capa ruled that they should pass on to another issue. She proposed that the committee must come up with suggestions as to how the R18 million that was allocated for uniform should be spent, now that the committee has decided that the uniform should be done away with.

Mr Durand (ANC) said the 18 million uniform issue is very difficult to deal with. He pointed out that this is a manifestation of the need for what the chairperson had proposed - the creation of sub-committees. He said it is difficult to reach a decision on this because no one in the committee is fully informed about it. Thus, Mr Durand said, echoing Ms Capa's words, there is a little choice - members need to work through subcommittees.

In response to this, Ms Capa reiterated her stance in regard to the need for the strategy to use subcommittees, saying that that would ensure that something is being done.

Ms Sosibo (ANC) enquired about the proposed strategic workshop between the committee and the department. Ms Capa said the members should understand that the department is not running smoothly, therefore, the department cannot be expected to come up with the final date for the workshop very soon. For the time being, the department is working on orientating the new commissioner and his team. Therefore, the strategic workshop will have to be delayed as the input of the commissioner and his team would be sought for in that workshop.

Mr Bloem (ANC) differed with the Chairperson, saying that the workshop entirely depends on the committee, and has nothing to do with the department. It is up to the committee to set a date for the workshop with or without the input of the department. He said academic institutions, such as the University of the Western Cape, are well positioned and have research on the many issues relating to their needs of the committee.

The Chairperson responded that it might be the case that members are referring to another workshop that she has no knowledge of. She said the workshop she was referring to was the strategic workshop, in which the members will be, among other things, familiarised with the work of the department. Going their own way without the department would be extremely dangerous. However, she said if it was the general feeling of the members to go ahead without the department, she would not oppose that.

As a way of diffusing conflict and reaching consensus, Ms Sosibo proposed two workshops - one to be held by the committee separately where speakers from academic institutions would advise members on the execution of oversight; another one to be the strategic workshop with the department.

The committee endorsed this proposal. It was agreed that since it is not known when the department will be ready, the separate committee workshop will have to be held first.

The chairperson, before closing the meeting, informed the members that the committee has new criteria for study trips and tours. She advised the members to peruse the manual provided and then consider where they would like to go to for their study or investigative trips.

Appendix 1:
BUDGET VOTE SPEECH OF THE MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, MR B M SKOSANA, MP,
National Assembly, 12 May 2000

Madam Speaker

Prison systems the world over continue to resemble a cruel choice which is perpetually imposed by societies on themselves as poor socio-economic conditions spawn crime and criminality of elusive proportions. The choice of some governments to place prison matters at the lowest priorities of their agenda simply because prisons house those who offended society in various ways of conduct is a refusal on the part of authorities to come to terms with realities. In fact, prison has for long been viewed by the state as both a symbolic and functional answer to the crisis of control which exists outside the prison wall. Similarly, the public's general attitude and occasional interest in prisons is one of least concern, usually generated by a sensational treatment of the subject in the press; otherwise, it is shockingly ignorant of the whole subject.

The average person out there does not view the correctional services system as a dynamic institution subjected to ever changing demands and challenges. Prison is seen as an institution that is operated by a routine, things being the same day after day, month after month, year after year, with faces changing often but "the system" changing slowly.

We are all in our varying degrees as members of the public guilty of perpetuating this misconception of the prison system. This I submit is as a result of years and years of social conditioning. The greatest threat to the safety of our communities emanates from the widespread socio-economic inequalities of South African society as a whole, which in my opinion is a direct result of the legacy of the apartheid system. It is therefore no coincidence that the overwhelming majority of offenders in the prison system come from the previously disadvantaged groups who are of little value in the labour market and are seen as socially and economically inadequate. Our situation in South Africa is such that imprisonment has the function of diverting public attention from the pressing need of appropriately channelling public resources to correct the imbalances of the past. In this respect, the media which 'constitutes a selective filter between those who are imprisoned and public opinion' has ably supported the argument that the greatest threat to the safety of the community emanates from the criminal activity of the individual.

Our attitude as members of the public is therefore largely a result of this social conditioning. Where there exist greater communication and understanding between prisoners and the public, the processes of stigmatisation and labelling are less swift, automatic and certain.

The challenge facing us as the elected representatives of the people is to establish and maintain meaningful contact with prisoners; this I consider to be imperative in our quest to attain the desired fundamental transformation of our correctional services system. The process of contact will indeed lead to the realisation that prisoners are comparable to ourselves in many ways rather than as society's outcasts.

In view of the arguments I have thus far presented, it is not difficult to understand why the media has shown such little interest, if any, to the contribution made by my department as an integral part of the governance of this country. The media has not played any meaningful role in helping to highlight the problems and the real crisis facing the Department of Correctional Services. Instead the media has embarked on a negative campaign against my department taking every opportunity to portray us as a useless department, even going so far as to challenge our right to exist as a distinct department. In fact, it was even stated in one editorial comment that privatisation of correctional services was probably the only viable option of achieving the desired transformation of the prison system. No similar call to privatise the Courts, prosecutions or the police, has been made by the media, this is despite the well known problems currently facing these components. Of course imprisonment or any correctional activity, as is the case with the other core elements of the criminal justice system, is fundamental to the state's legitimate right to punish. As stated by Mark Finland in his book, The State of the Prison - A Critique of Reform, imprisonment is the central manifestation of the punishment function of the state.

Indeed, I am the first to concede that every escape from prison is one too many and that even the recent achievements of the department to drastically reduce the number of escapes from prison, following my direct personal intervention to hold anti-escape workshops in all the nine provinces, is not enough. We can never be satisfied until we have completely eradicated this problem from our system. The sensational reporting of widespread corruption in my department by the media has been noted.

As already pointed out, the media has had many shortcomings in raising public awareness to the real underlying problems facing our correctional system. Surely the public has a right to know that there is corruption at Correctional Services, but of course this is not the only point. What the public also needs to know is what the Department is doing to combat corruption within its ranks and whether or not it is winning the fight against corruption. A responsible and supportive media will at least try to show some level of concern by reporting in a balanced manner. The adversarial relationship and attitude displayed by some of our media towards Correctional Services is indeed a complicated story on its own. However, I would like to commend those members of the media whose investigative journalism and commitment to getting to the bottom of the issues, assisted in uncovering some of the irregularities and corrupt practices in my Department, which led me to initiate a full scale investigation.

I would be failing in my responsibility as Minister concerned not to use this opportunity to respond to the statements, which were made by a certain senior government official at the 14th April 2000 joint sitting of the Portfolio Committees of Correctional Services and Public Service and Administration, accusing the State of having lost complete control of Correctional Services. These statements were not only unfounded and baseless but were also potentially very dangerous for the security of our correctional officers in the prisons as well as the internal security of the state as a whole. It is not appropriate for a senior government official to take up a public platform and openly criticise the government, especially on a sensitive internal state security matter such as this one.

This is more so the case when the said official has got his facts completely mixed up. Please allow me to put this matter into its proper perspective. When I took over as Minister of Correctional Services in 1998 several groupings and individuals within my department approached me with allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement, which incidentally had been reported in the media, directed against the former Commissioner and other senior officials. I then initiated an investigation into the allegations through the Auditor General.

The findings of the Auditor General were presented to the Select Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), thereafter the department was called in to answer. This process eventually led to the resignation of the former Commissioner. Because of many unanswered questions still remaining, I felt that further probing of the department as a whole was necessary. I wish to put it clearly to this House that it is my conviction and determination to promote a culture of clean administration in my department that motivated me along. I subsequently approached the Minister for Public Service and Administration for a possible further inquiry by her department.

This process led to the establishment of a management audit of my department, which culminated in a report to the President, myself and Minister Fraser-Moleketi dated 18 February 2000. In its process, the management audit came across new allegations of corruption and maladministration in the department. As a result of these further allegations I then called for a second phase of the investigation to probe further into the allegations to get concrete evidence, which we would then be able to use to take necessary disciplinary steps against those implicated. At no point in this process did I lose control of the administration of my Department.

In fact, the President was also kept fully informed and was at some stage even invited by myself to come and address the entire senior management staff of my department, to motivate them into giving their fullest support and co-operation to the investigation.

Furthermore, it can be unequivocally stated that the Department has not lost the fight against corruption as can be shown from the following province by province statistics on disciplinary steps taken against corrupt officials:

DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS TAKEN AGAINST STAFF PER PROVINCE

NORTHERN CAPE
Prosecutions: 14
Serious offences: 11 cases of theft and robbery
Dismissals: 1

NORTH WEST
Prosecutions: 24
Serious offences: 5 cases of theft, 2 cases where officials assisted prisoners to escape
Dismissals: 6

GAUTENG
Prosecutions: 51
Serious offences: 8 cases of theft, 2 cases where officials assisted prisoners to escape
Dismissals: 7

NORTHERN PROVINCE
Prosecutions 7
Serious offences: 1 case of receiving and claiming money from a prisoner
Dismissals: 0 (Not guilty)

WESTERN CAPE
Prosecutions: 39
Serious offences: 6 cases of theft
Dismissals: 6

FREE STATE
Prosecutions: 5
Serious offences: 3 cases of possession of dagga
Dismissals: 0

MPUMALANGA
Prosecutions: 16
Serious offences: 5 cases of theft, 3 cases of fraud
Dismissals 7

KWAZULU-NATAL
Prosecutions: 18
Serious offences: 4 cases of theft, 2 cases of rape
Dismissals: 6

EASTERN CAPE
Prosecutions: 9
Serious offences: 2 cases of theft, 2 cases of possession of dagga
Dismissals 3


NATIONAL TOTALS
Prosecutions: 183
Serious offences: 30 cases of theft, 11 cases of theft and robbery, 5 cases of possession of dagga, 4 cases where officials assisted prisoners to escape, 3 cases of fraud, 2 cases of rape, 1 case of receiving and claiming money from a prisoner
Dismissals: 36

These records alone are already painting a different picture altogether. There is therefore no doubt in my mind that as soon as the current investigations by the Public Service Commission and Department of Public Service and Administration are concluded and a final report tabled corruption and maladministration in Correctional Services will be dealt a heavy blow. I would however caution strongly against any misplaced ideas, which might be existing out there that the fight against corruption in our prison system is near completion.

It is necessary that the current corruption in our prison system is understood within the historical context of the South African prison system. The past era briefly described by Prof. Dirk Van Zyl Smit, a member of the National Council for Correctional Services, should inspire a reflection on how the past could affect the present when he said:

"The history of the South African prison system in the last twenty years is a history of both change and continuity. On the one hand, there is the history of a system which formed part of the State apparatus of a minority government which applied explicitly racial criteria. The prison system itself was governed by a highly restrictive legal regime, which included explicitly racist elements. Change in this regard has been significant and on occasion has anticipated change in the national political structure".

Surely these circumstances must of necessity give rise to a variety of social, economic and political factors. At times, these factors left managers and administrators to their own devices; positive and negative, where the legacy of more than five decades of misrule continue to hold hostage a mere six years of political emancipation and the quest to democratise.

As a department, overcrowding remains our greatest challenge. It is threatening to undermine our efforts to comply with international norms and standards regarding the separation of categories of prisoners, humane detention, provision of basic needs, provision of comprehensive primary health care, rehabilitation of offenders, safe custody and raising and maintaining staff morale. Prison must not be viewed in isolation, but must be understood as part of a larger political, economic and social order, which sustains and is itself, supported by prison. In fact, the correctional system is itself an integral part of an even larger system, namely, the so-called criminal justice system. South Africa is not an exception in its failure to recognise that correctional services are an integral part of governance.

It was the timely visionary intervention of President T M Mbeki in June last year to establish ministerial clusters which tempered deeply with the counterproductive isolationist approaches to crime prevention of the core departments which form the criminal justice system. The criminal justice system is constituted by four core departments - Correctional services, South African Police Services, Justice and Welfare. The processes taking place in each of these core components are interdependent and often overlapping. The problems facing Correctional Services cannot be viewed in isolation of what is happening in the other components. One of the main objectives of the Crime Prevention, Justice and Safety Cluster is to ensure the protection of the public. This objective can only be truly realised through the development of an integrated approach which takes into account all the processes and sub-processes involved in each of the core components conceptually woven together to produce an interdepartmental strategy for crime prevention.

There is no doubt in my mind that the clustering of ministries has been the single most important step forward in bringing about an end to the isolation of Correctional Services and to begin to understand and recognise it as an integral part of the governance of this country. The real challenge now facing the cluster is the ability of its members to work together and put aside unnecessary inter-departmental competitions to achieve the service delivery levels expected by the public. Already, through the clustering approach we have been able to formulate and embark on the following strategies to combat overcrowding in prisons:

* There are multi-sectoral teams to identify blockages and devise solutions to the awaiting trial prisoner problem.
* Early release of offenders who have committed less serious crimes, after they have served a set minimum period of their sentence.
* Alternatives to imprisonment, which involve serving the sentence within the community under supervision.
* Electronic monitoring has been identified as a system that will strengthen and enhance Community Corrections.
* The provision of additional prison accommodation through a system of partnerships with the private sector.

Other projects currently being developed and introduced within the Crime Prevention, Justice and Safety Cluster from which the Department will greatly benefit are the following:

* Inmate Tracking System.
* Criminal History Record Information System (CHRIS).
* Event Notification System.


OFFENDER PROGRAMMES

With regard to the management of offenders I can share with you that rehabilitative and development services of offenders are at present adversely affected by overpopulation in our prisons and the shortage of human resources.

A very important aspect to note is the alarming number of unsentenced prisoners in our custody which at the end of last month stood at 62 952, which constitutes approximately 40% of the total number of prisoners in our facilities. From January 1995 to February of this year the number of unsentenced prisoners increased by 158% compared to an increase of 15% for sentenced prisoners over the same period.

The Correctional Services system has a major responsibility to invest in the training of prisoners in various skills. This is aimed at developing prisoners to gain market related skills to increase their employment potential in the labour market to enhance successful prisoner rehabilitation. The fields of training includes formal vocational, basic occupational and business skills training.

Prisoners use their skills to gain experience and to promote self-sufficiency within the prison system. Plans to increase self-sufficiency levels have been put in place. These include, inter alia, the completion of two broiler projects in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, which will increase our current chicken production by 100%.

The Department also derives income from the sale of agricultural and workshop products and charging for prison labour. Income generated is deposited into the exchequer, and the projected income for the current financial year is R83,2 million.

It is important to note that Section 133 of the Correctional Services Act, 1998 requires all state departments, as far as possible, to purchase articles and supplies manufactured by prison labour from the Department of Correctional Services at fair and reasonable prices as may be determined by the Minister of Finance. I therefore invite my colleagues to encourage their departments to purchase products from our facilities. The President has already set an example in this regard, by furnishing his office in his official residence in Pretoria with furniture manufactured from our workshops.

The battle against HIV/Aids has been highlighted and given priority to as one of our main offender programmes in the Department. We have recently introduced an extensive weekly awareness campaign in prisons as one of our strategies to combat the spread of HIV infection amongst inmates and staff. Furthermore, a 5 year Departmental HIV/Aids action plan has been submitted to the National Department of Health for inclusion into the National HIV/Aids Action Plan. In addition, a comprehensive Work Place HIV/Aids policy was also adopted in the Departmental Bargaining Chamber in consultation with stakeholders.

The Department will in the near future introduce a victim empowerment programme. The programme will first and foremost entail the participation of victims in parole board hearings and the development of a mediation protocol. It will also focus on the proper training of staff to prevent the victimisation of prisoners.

The Department regards all offenders under the age of 21 as an extremely vulnerable category of prisoners. There are at present 12 juvenile correctional development centres countrywide, including the Ekuseni Youth Development Centre which is now operated directly by the Department, following the expiry of the contract between the Department and Joint Education Trust on the 31st of December last year. Despite the attempts to completely remove juveniles from the prison system, there are special circumstances where these offenders must be sentenced to adult correctional facilities. In these cases we provide for separate facilities from the main prison population for the education, rehabilitation and development of these young offenders.

* Juvenile correctional development involves needs-based psychological programmes, which incorporate individual, group and/or family therapy. The emphasis is on providing social work services aimed at equipping young offenders with life skills through self-empowerment, sex education and alcohol and drug abuse programmes. Education and training programmes are focused on the promotion and development of leadership qualities. In addition to the normal education and training programmes, juveniles are given religious instruction encompassing the various church denominations and faiths.

* The personal safety and development of infants and their mothers in prison will remain a priority of the Department. The primary focus of the Department will continue to be on the provision of appropriate infrastructure such as day care centres and separate suitably equipped detention facilities for mothers.

Electronic monitoring to enhance and promote Community Corrections as a viable alternative to incarceration in less serious offences has been tested and found to be a viable option for the South African situation. Electronic monitoring refers to electronic technology which is applied to assist Community Corrections personnel in determining whether an offender placed under home confinement is complying with the conditions of his or her confinement as set by the Court of the Correctional Services Commissioner.

On the 31st of March 1999 Cabinet approved the implementation of electronic monitoring countrywide.

After a lengthy tender process the State Tender Board on the 24th of December 1999 awarded an electronic monitoring tender to a consultant to assist the Department with the formulation of technical specifications and business for the implementation of electronic monitoring countrywide. The consultant commenced work on the 1st of February 2000 and has submitted the first report for the first phase of the project, which is currently being evaluated by the Department. According to the plans of the Department, it is expected that electronic monitoring will be operational countrywide by the end of this financial year.

We view this project as a fundamental step forward in the transformation of our correctional system, and the delays in its implementation experienced so far must in the future be avoided at all costs.

The Correctional Services Act, 1998 provides for a new system of Parole Boards, which comprises of full-time ex-officio members from the Department of Justice and South African Police Services and members of the community. The implementation of this new parole board system has been delayed due to budgetary constraints experienced by the two respective departments regarding the appointment of full-time officials to service the parole boards system. It was subsequently agreed by Correctional Services and the two departments concerned that even though it is desirable to have full-time ex-officio members serving on Correctional Supervision and Parole Boards it would not be cost effective. It was therefore decided that Justice and SAPS members would be co-opted to participate in the Boards on an ad hoc basis depending on the merits of the case. A suitable amendment of the Act to accommodate this agreement will be presented to Cabinet in the immediate future.

I intend to introduce special poverty relief programmes through the utilisation of prison labour and skills during the course of this financial year. These will include , inter alia, the donation of food supplies to schools, old age homes, hospitals, and other similar institutions. In this regard, we will endeavour to establish close partnerships with the relevant non-governmental organisations involved in poverty relief. We will also make our contribution in disaster relief and infrastructure rehabilitation.


PRISONS

The phasing in of the new Unit Management system in prisons is going on smoothly. This new system of prison management is a fundamental transformation of our prison system in line with international best practice, to move away from the prison focused management approach to a prisoner focused management method. The new system provides for the management of prisoners in smaller units with greater interaction between correctional officials and prisoners. Extensive training workshops are currently underway in the various provinces to prepare prison staff in unit management. It is envisaged that the system will be implemented in 27 prisons around the country during the course of this year. All the recently built prisons have been designed along the lines of unit management.

A new Public-Private Partnership programme better known as the Asset Procurement and Operating Partnership System (APOPS) has been implemented.

With the able assistance of the Department of Public Works, on the 24th of March 2000 I signed a concession agreement with Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts Pty (Ltd) (Ikwezi Consortium) for the construction of the first APOPS prison in South Africa to be built in Bloemfontein, which will accommodate 3028 prisoners. Construction work started on the 3rd of April 2000 and is due for completion on the first of October 2001. I am happy to announce that on the 8th of May 2000 I signed the Proclamation of this prison in terms of section 5 of the Correctional Services Act, 1998, which will be known as Mangaung Maximum Security Prison. We are also in the process of finalising negotiations for a concession contract with South African Custodial Services the second APOPS prison in Louis Trichardt, which will accommodate 2960 prisoners.

It is important to mention that in order to provide for the financing of the APOPS projects within the MTEF budgetary allocations, financed posts of 4 404 and 1 424 will be "freezed" in the 2001/2002 and 2002/2003 financial years respectively. This will result in a declining financed personnel establishment of 39 534, 35 936 and 34 512 from the 2000/2001 to 2002/2003 financial years respectively. This "freezing of posts will result in a very high correctional official to prisoner ratio and will adversely affect the management of the Department concerning the following specific areas:
* Implementation of the new Unit Management system,
* Prevention of escapes (safety of the community),
* Security of correctional officials and prisoners,
* Service delivery,

To further address the problem of overcrowding in our prisons, we opened a new Youth Development Centre, Emthonjeni, near Pretoria with a capacity of 640 beds towards the end of last year. In addition, we will also be completing the construction of three more prisons in the near future namely, Kokstad with a capacity of 1440 beds, Empangeni with 1392 beds and Devon, our first ever pre-release centre, with 650 beds.

As part of the offender rehabilitation programme in prisons, we intend engaging the Department of Public Works regarding to utilisation of prison labour for the maintenance of our prisons. This will necessitate an interdepartmental budget transfer of funds from Public Works to Correctional Services. Due to the demands placed by overcrowding on our facilities, and the fact that many of our prisons are old, there is a serious state of disrepair in a number of our facilities. Our experience has taught us that we are at the end of the priority list of Public Works maintenance services, hence the request to do the repairs ourselves. The present inhumane conditions that many of our prisoners are subjected to on a daily basis cannot be allowed to continue.

The newly appointed Inspecting Judge, Mr Justice Fagan has stated that the office of the Judicial Inspectorate views the impeding crisis that exists in many of our prisons, due to overcrowding, as a matter of extreme urgency and has placed it at the top of its list of priorities.

The appointment of Independent Prison Visitors in terms of the Correctional Services Act, 1998 by the Inspecting Judge, to deal with the daily complaints of prisoners, has commenced.

Towards the end of 1999 I appointed the National Council for Correctional Services in terms of the relevant provision of our Act, under the chairmanship of Justice Kumleben and deputy chairman Justice Desai. The Council acts as an advisory body to advise the Minister of Correctional Services on all matters in connection with Correctional Services. The Councils views must be sought on all major policy issues affecting my portfolio. The Council is, inter alia, currently tasked with the following assignments: Implementation of the Correctional Services Act, 1998; Functioning of the Office of the Inspecting Judge; The status and jurisdiction of the internal Anti-Corruption Unit; The prison system and overcrowding; Involvement of prisoners in productive work; Incarceration of prisoners sentenced by the International Tribunal for Rwanda.

Finally, as stated by the President in his opening remarks in his State of the Nation Address at the opening of Parliament, at no other point in our history as a nation have we ever been as well placed as we are today to take decisive forward steps towards the creation of a humane and people-centred society.

I therefore challenge every God-fearing South African to stand up and join the fight to challenge the prejudices and stereotypes which society holds against prisoners and the prison system in general. The time has come for us to introduce the spirit of ubuntu and our Africanness into the correctional system.

Our motto in the Department is "We Serve with Pride". Let us all participate in the transformation of the Correctional Services system to give real meaning to this motto to motivate correctional officials to daily challenges of their calling.

I want to re-assure every South African that the fight against corruption in my Department will be intensified.

I am confident that the ongoing investigations will play a major part towards the establishment of a culture of clean administration in the Department of Correctional Services.

I also welcome the deployment of the Director-General of the Gauteng Provincial Administration, Mr Lulamile Mbete, by President Mbeki as the new Commissioner of Correctional Services. This introduction of fresh blood into the Department will surely bring about the necessary enthusiasm and open-mindedness much needed in tackling the problems and challenges facing the Department. I will be announcing a management plan in the near future to deal with the implementation of the recommendations of the Management Audit Report dated 18 February 2000. The new Commissioner and his management team are busy with the final touches of this plan.

Last but not least, I take this opportunity to extend my heart-felt gratitude to Commissioner Thami Nxumalo and all the loyal and hard working members of the Department of Correctional Services for the diligent execution of their duties during the difficult period of the past few months. My sincere thanks and appreciation also goes to the members of my Portfolio Committee, the members of the National Council for Correctional Services and Inspecting Judge and his support staff.

I thank you.