Question NW752 to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
08 June 2020 - NW752
Horn, Mr W to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
(1)Given the rising number of inmates being infected with COVID-19 at correctional facilities, what procedures are in place to ensure that deliberate attempts by inmates to infect one another are eliminated; (2) what (a) total number of inmates have been placed in quarantine since COVID-19 was declared a national disaster and (b) percentage of the specified number of inmates were quarantined outside the confines of the correctional service sites where the respective prisoners are serving their sentences; (3) what proactive arrangements are in place to ensure that the warden to inmate ratio remains stable in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, given the vulnerability of both wardens and inmates in contracting the virus; (4) what (a) is the budgetary allocation to educational programmes designed to create awareness about the coronavirus in correctional facilities and (b) percentage of this allocated budget has been spent to date?
Reply:
1. Awareness session on COVID-19 are held by unit managers and health care professionals whereby the psychological/psychosocial protocol and guidelines is shared with the inmates:
- Explanation on what COVID-19 is and the mode of spread;
- The signs and symptoms of COVID-19;
- Measures to be taken to prevent spreading and/or acquiring COVID-19;
- Compliance with basic Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures;
- The responsibilities of reporting to the staff when experiencing signs and symptoms.
(2)(a) The total number of inmates that have been placed in quarantine since COVID-19 was declared a national disaster is three thousand six hundred and forty four
(3 644) from 01 April to 16 May 2020, and
(2)(b) None of the inmates were quarantined outside the confines of the correctional service sites.
3. The Department has a plan in place whereby non-centre based officials appointed in terms of the Correctional Service Act and the Public Service Act that have undergone basic training, will be transferred to centres where services are needed as a result of staff shortages as a result of Covid-19.
The Department has also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the South African National Defence Force whereby reserves will be used to augment the services rendered by Correctional Officials.
In addition, the ex-Correctional Services officials will be appointed to augment the imminent shortage. This Contingency plan will ensure that the staff to inmate ratio remains stable and that the available Correctional officers are not overwhelmed.
4. There is no specific budgetary allocation for creating awareness amongst the inmates due to the fact that these sessions are rendered by departmental unit managers and health care professionals.
Budgetary allocation for education programmes designed to create awareness about the coronavirus in correctional facilities amongst officials:
|
REGION |
|
Amount Spent |
|
|
Eastern Cape |
R 4 240 000.00 |
R 121 800.00 |
2.87% |
|
Free State and Northern Cape (FS/NC) |
R 2 962 700.00 |
R 146 690.00 |
4.95% |
|
Gauteng |
R 1 180 000.00 |
R 6 000.00 |
0.05% |
|
KwaZulu-Natal |
R 1 882 000.00 |
R 241 267. |
13% |
|
Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West (LMN) |
R 1 904 000.00 |
R 172 268. |
9.05% |
|
Western Cape |
R 1 402 000.00 |
R 92 263. |
6.58% |
|
Total |
R 13 570 700.00 |
R 780 288 |
5.75% |
The human resources development budget is currently exclusively being utilised for COVID-19 related training. Since most of the training is localised and the Department has also taken advantage of training also offered by the Department of Health for health care professionals.
END