Question NW1732 to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
21 June 2023 - NW1732
Msimang, Prof CT to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
(1)Considering that it took a lot of public outcry for the Government to cancel its contract with G4S even though the infamous Thabo Bester escape was not the first reported incident of this nature in the Mangaung Correctional Services Centre, what number of escapes by prisoners will it take before a contract between his department and a service provider is cancelled; (2) whether a well-orchestrated escape such as the escape of Thabo Bester can be regarded as enough grounds for the immediate termination of a contract; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
1. The Department of Correctional Services has not entered into any contracts with the mentioned service provider, however the mentioned company is a sub-contractor of the Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts (Pty) Ltd (BCC) which operates the Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC) as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Correctional Centre under sections 103 – 112 of the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998, as amended (CSA)
2. It should be noted that a presentation was made to the Justice and Correctional Services Portfolio committee on 18 March 2022 indicating that the contract entered into with BCC would come to an end on 30 June 2026. Subsequent to the security incident, on 20 April 2023, a termination notice for a period of 90 days was issued to BCC, and thereafter, the contract will cease to operate.
END