Correctional Services and Regulations: briefing

NCOP Security and Justice

03 September 2003
Share this page:

Meeting Summary

A summary of this committee meeting is not yet available.

Meeting report

CORRECTIONAL SERVICES AND REGULATIONS: DEPARTMENT'S BRIEFING

SELECT COMMITTEE ON SECURITY AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
3 September 2003
CORRECTIONAL SERVICES AND REGULATIONS: DEPARTMENT'S BRIEFING

Chairperson:
Mr M Mokoena (ANC: Northern Province)

Documents handed out:
Correctional Services Regulations
Discussion Document Towards Green Paper on Correctional Services In South Africa

SUMMARY
The Committee was briefed on the Correctional Services Regulations and the Green Paper for the South African Correctional Services (SACS). In detailed discussions, there was general concern about whether the regulations could retain a theoretical as well as a practical standing. Discussion on the second document was deferred since the discussion document was presently with Cabinet.

MINUTES
Mr Gxilishe (Regional Manager of the Department of Correctional Services of the Western Cape) introduced the first presentation on the Draft Regulations for Correctional Services of South Africa by Mr Paxton (Director of Legal Services). It focused on the conditions of prison cells and the constitutional rights of prisoners.

The second presentation by Mr Gxilishe focused on the process of the Discussion Document that was presently being issued to Cabinet because the Department felt that the current White Paper on Correctional Services was outdated. Reasons for this conclusion were provided in the opening chapter of the Discussion Document.

The Committee unanimously agreed to discuss the content and relevance of the document once Cabinet had viewed it and it was made available to Committee members.

Discussion
The first presentation resulted in an in-depth discussion on the proposed regulations for correctional services in South Africa.

Mr Mathee (NNP: Kwazulu-Natal) asked if a copy of the regulations was available because it was difficult to ask questions without having the written material. A copy was later issued to all the Committee members.

Mr Lever (DA: North-West) asked whether all prisoners were forced to be tested for HIV/AIDS and Ms Sishuba (Deputy Commissioner of Development and Religious Care) replied that prisoners were encouraged through education to have themselves tested. However, they would only be tested with informed consent.

Mrs Lubidla (ANC: Northern Cape) stated that it would be difficult to establish if individual prison cells were kept clean in terms of the Regulation on Cleanliness because of congestion and the stench of the old prison buildings. Ms Sishuba agreed that overcrowding, poor ventilation and the stench of the prison buildings were problematic but that each prisoner had to clean his/her area to prevent the spread of contagious diseases.

Mrs Lubidla asked how some prisoners gained access to firearms inside prisons. Ms Sishuba responded that there was a prescription for all prisoners to be searched whenever they returned from the prison grounds and that possession of firearms was contrary to regulations.

Both Mr Lever and Mr Mathee expressed their concern whether the Department of Correctional Services had the capacity to enforce the regulations. They asked for a copy of the present regulations so that a comparative analysis could be made of the latter and the draft regulations.

Mrs Lubidla asked whether whether Muslim prisoners were allowed the same freedom to celebrate a religious holidays as other prisoners. Ms Sishuba answered that religious holidays were respected and that there were Boards on the different faiths at the Department of Correctional Services whom prisoners and staff members could address.

Mr Lever questioned Mr Paxton's earlier statement that an abortion would only be performed if a pregnant prisoner's health was threatened. This would be violating the constitutional right of all women to the right to abortion. No response was given but the Chair said the matter would be on the agenda of the next meeting in two weeks.

Mr Mathee asked how the constitutional rights of HIV-negative prisoners were protected in an environment of overcrowding and where there was a 50% chance of being sodomised. Mr Gxilishe spoke of the case of a man who had been recently released who claimed that he had been infected with HIV in prison. Mr Gxilishe said that every such case had to be investigated individually to distinguish whether the infected prisoner had been raped or had a consensual sexual relationship.

The Chair asked Mr Gxilishe about a recent incident where a woman was impregnated with her prisoner husband's child. The Chair asked Mr Gxilishe how it was possible for such an incident to have taken place. He replied that the matter was investigated but that it had been difficult to establish where the sexual encounter took place and therefore, whether the system erred.

A discussion on the second presentation was postponed until further notice.

The Chair thanked the representatives of the Department for admitting to faults in their domain and for such an extensive briefing.

The meeting was adjourned.

Audio

No related

Documents

No related documents

Present

  • We don't have attendance info for this committee meeting

Download as PDF

You can download this page as a PDF using your browser's print functionality. Click on the "Print" button below and select the "PDF" option under destinations/printers.

See detailed instructions for your browser here.

Share this page: