Sitole Allegations; Development and Rehabilitation

Meeting report

CORRECTIONAL SERVICES PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
27 October 1999
DEVELOPMENT & REHABILITATION PROGRAMMES; MISMANAGMENT AND CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS AGAINST COMMISSIONER SITOLE

 

Correctional Services Website and 1998 Annual Report

Development & Rehabilitation programmes
Ms Jabu Sishuba (Deputy Commissioner: Development Programmes and Religious Care) ran through the goals and objectives of the department's development and rehabilitation programmes for offenders. The primary goal of Correctional Services "is no different from other components of the criminal justice system - "to protect the public".

This goal is to be achieved through achieving the following:
- Preventing escapes;
- Humanely incarcerating offenders until their lawful release;
- Providing a safe and appropriate environment that is conducive to influencing offenders to learn and adopt a positive and appropriate value system, thus creating a desire in them to lead productive lives as law abiding citizens when they are released into the community.

Other points that were made: It costs around R80,82 to keep one offender in prison each day. The total prison budget is around R6 billion per annum.

Discussion
Mr Mzizi (IFP): From my understanding, prisoners are restricted as to whether or not they may have open contact visits according to their prisoner class (A,B,C, or D). Is it not difficult to implement your Family Care and Marriage programme ["encouraging maintenance of family and marital relationships through counselling and support"] when many prisoners are never permitted direct contact with their loved ones?

Ms Sishuba: There are clashes between security and rehabilitation, but it would be too great a security risk to allow open visits for high-risk prisoners.

The discussion then went on to the issue of affirmative action, and what the Department had achieved in this regard.

Ms Dlamini (ANC) asked why there are no statistical comparisons as between gender employment within each racial group (for example between black males and black females)? She also voiced concern about the manner in which voluntary severance packages had been offered and given to employees.

Mr Tshivhase of Correctional Services Depepartment noted that there are statistics available as to the ratio of black males to black females within the department.

Chairperson Mokoena: What were the criteria for the granting of a voluntary severance package?

Mr Tshivhase answered that age and years of employment were two of the criteria, although he could not be more specific and exact without the details at hand.

Chairperson Mokoena: This is not good enough. The criteria that apply should be clearly spelt out. What other criteria are there apart from age and years of service?

Senior Member: The Commissioner will supplement my answer.

Commissioner Sitole: Essentially, the criteria are age and years of service. Originally, it was 25 years of service and 50 years of age. When more funds became available, the qualifying age was reduced to 45.

Chairperson Mokoena: Why was your voluntary severance package policy not in keeping with public service policy generally?

Commissioner Sitole: If it was out of step, this was due to problems of representivity. In relation to senior posts there was a huge backlog in lack of representivity. We needed to adapt to catch up. In relation to essential posts (such as computer services and information technology), we did not have black people with the necessary skills to achieve representivity immediately. Originally, we decided to place the age cut off point at 50. Because we could not meet our affirmative action targets, we reduced the age to 45. This is why the criteria were changed.

Ms Dlamini (ANC): She said she had heard about the criteria, but asked why some directors (such as Thembi Buthelezi) were given severance packages having worked in correctional services for as little as 17 months.

Commissioner Sitole: The above criteria do not apply to directors. And it is inaccurate to suggest that Buthelezi only served 17 months. There was, in any case, no way that we could stop them getting the packages. They met the criteria.

Chairperson: How can the fact that people such as Buthelezi were given severance packages after so little time be reconciled with the goal of affirmative action?

Commissioner Sitole: One has to look at the department as a whole, both at a national and provincial level. Our overall performance in achieving affirmative action targets should be considered.

A committee member asked how many new social workers had been employed since 1994 and further why was Goodwood prison housing sentenced prisoners when it was built solely for the purpose of people awaiting trial?.

Ms Sishuba replied that 200 new recruits had been employed since 1994. As regards Goodwood prison, for operational reasons the ratio of prisoners changed to 2/3 sentenced to 1/3 awaiting trial. However this year it has gone back to taking in only unsentenced prisoners.

There was a query about whether the Department was still on target for reducing prison escapes.

Commissioner Sitole: The target for escapes is 660 this year. So far (at the end of October) there have been 199. This is a dramatic improvement from 1997 (when there were 1349 escapes) and 1998 (when there were 459). By the end of 1999, the figure should be below 250.

Chairperson Mokoena: Commissioner Sitole is interpreting the figures very 'mechanistically'. The nature of the escapes is more important than the number. Although the number may have been reduced, the manner in which prisoners are escaping is cause for concern. There is suspicion as to how certain people manage to escape so easily. Commissioner Sitole should not be so complacent when it is apparent that warders are assisting prisoners in escaping.

Commissioner Sitole: I accept what the Chairperson is saying, and in many cases the escapes are staff related. We hope to deal effectively with this problem.

Mismanagment and Corruption Allegations against Commissioner Sitole
Adv Schmidt (DP): What is the formal name of the Scholarship that your department has been involved in? Did the Minister's authorize the funding? Is the soccer club SPARTEC [which Sitole owned] professional or amateur?

Commissioner Sitole replied that the programme title is "Master's in Criminal Justice Administration". In reply to the second question, yes, the Minister for Correctional Services authorised the funding on 22 June 1999. He stated that he did not say that it was amateur, only that it did not have professional players in it.

Adv Schmidt (DP): An official football organisation has specifically stated that the club is professional, and that the players are registered as professional players?

Commissioner Sitole: At the time I owned SPARTEC, all players were amateur.

Chairperson: Why, Mr Sitole, did you sell your interest in the Club?

Commissioner Sitole: Because it was causing controversy, and I was getting a lot of unfair criticism.

Chairperson Mokeona: If everything was above board, and if you were in the right, then there would have been no reason for you to sell.

Commissioner Sitole: The allegations were not healthy and were damaging my reputation. I could no longer live with the criticism and decided that it would be easiest to sell.

Adv Schmidt (DP): From MTN sponsorship, you and the club was receiving substantial amounts of money for the players and for transport etc on a monthly basis.

Commissioner Sitole: The people that owned it got the money, not me. I was not involved.

Adv Schmidt (DP): How much did you sell SPARTEC for and when?

Commissioner Sitole: I sold it in October last year.

Adv Schmidt (DP): For how much?

Commissioner Sitole: I am not prepared to say. It is my personal business.

Chairman Mokoena: This is a matter of public concern, and the public and this committee have a right to know whether there has been any mercantile gain. You are free to refuse to disclose the information, but it will not be well regarded by the Committee.

Commissioner Sitole: It was sold for R140 000, of which I received only R60 000.

Ms Dlamini (ANC): If government money was used to fund the Criminal Justice scholarships at Jackson State University, then you must not be given credit for these scholarships. The name must be changed.

Commissioner Sitole: At no time were these scholarships named after me. They were associated with me because the University wanted to honor me as a former student and as a South African. It was all above board.
]
Chairperson: If the scholarship was not in your name, then how was it funded?

Commissioner Sitole: The University came to me and asked how funds could be raised, and I co-operated.

Miss Sigabi (DP): R507 000 of tax-payers' money has been spent on these scholarships [allegedly, because he could not raise the money privately]. How many students are there, and how much does it cost to fund them?

Senior Colleague of Sitole replied: Fees $48 500 per annum; Book fees $9 600 p.a; Accommodation $9000 p.a. There are eight students, all black (five females and three males).

A committee member asked what regulations Commissioner Sitole had applied when he awarded himself a large merit award?

Commissioner Sitole: The money paid was on merit. The legal advice we were given suggested that the 1994 Correctional Services legislation could be interpreted in such a way that such awards could be given. Awards to subordinates were made both as a reward, and as an incentive to keep up their good work. After the awards had been made, other state legal advice made it clear that the money was in fact wrongly awarded.

Chairperson Moekoena: Common sense should tell you that the law does not permit officials to reward themselves for 'good work'. In any case, awarding yourself large sums of money has nothing to do with giving your subordinates incentives to work.

Commissioner Sitole: Legal advice was taken, and at that time we believed that what was done was permissible. The money was paid back when it became clear that we had been wrongly advised.

Chairperson Mokoena: The public perception is that Correctional Services, at the management level, is corrupt and rotten. Things on top 'are not OK'. If you are irredeemable, then there is nothing we can do about it.

Adv Schmidt (DP): On the 21 March 1997 did you recommend that members of the management board (including yourself) should get a 10-18% merit award, awarding 18% to yourself and 10% to the others - despite the fact that reports stated that this should never have been done? And why was the money only paid back one day prior to your appearance before the Public Accounts Committee?

Commissioner Sitole: The money was actually paid back on the same day as the appearance before the Accounts Committee, and it was done so on the basis of legal advice that the merit awards had in fact been wrongly made.

Adv Schmidt (DP): Why did you sign a letter awarding yourself a merit award when independent reports said that you shouldn't?

Commissioner Sitole: These reports came after the award was made - not before.

Ms Dlamini (ANC): In relation to controversy over appointments - although others may be involved in conducting interviews - the buck stops with you [Commissioner Sitole]. There are particular problems with women in your department.

Commissioner Sitole: I have consistently pushed to gain greater representivity amongst women in the department. Women have jumped from 4% to 18% representation at a management level.

Chaiperson Mokoena: Did you appoint your brother and sister to comfortable positions within the Department of Correctional Services [in other words, are you guilty of nepotism]?.

Commissioner Sitole: My sister does work for the Department, but I had nothing to do with the interviewing process. The interview was carried out by someone else. My brother certainly never worked for the Department. He has just been released from prison.

Chairperson Mokoena: In sum, it strikes me that you have been arrogant and careless in the running of your department and your style of management. Do not think that you can leave this meeting thinking that everything is fine and that you are out of the woods. But this is not a kangaroo court, and thank you for coming.