Hansard: NA: Mini-plenary 4
House: National Assembly
Date of Meeting: 19 May 2022
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Minutes
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MINI PLENARY - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
THURSDAY, 19 MAY 2022
VOTE NO 22 – CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
Watch: Mini-plenary
PROCEEDINGS OF THE MINI-PLENARY SESSION OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
____
Members of the mini-plenary session met on the virtual platform at 16:30.
The Acting Chairperson Mr M G Mahlaule took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayer or editation.
The Chairperson announced that the virtual mini-plenary sitting constituted a meeting of the National Assembly.
VIRTUAL MINI-PLENARY SITTING CONSTITUTES MEETING OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
(Announcement)
The ACTING CHAIRPERSON (Mr M G Mahlaule): Thank you. Hon members, before we proceed, I would like to remind you that the virtual mini-plenary is deemed to be in the precinct of Parliament and constitutes a meeting of the National Assembly for debating purposes only. In addition to the Rules of the virtual sittings, the Rules of the National Assembly including the rules of debate apply. Members enjoy the same powers and privileges that apply in the sitting of the National Assembly. Members should equally note that anything said in the virtual platform is deemed to have been said to the House and may be ruled upon. All members who have logged in shall be considered to be present and are requested to mute their microphones and only unmute it when recognised to speak. This is because the microphones are very sensitive and will pick up any noise which might disturb the attention of other members. When you
are recognised to speak, please unmute your microphone and connect your video. Members may also make use of the icons on the bars at the bottom of their screens which has an option that allows a member to put up his or her own hand to raise points of order.
The secretariat will assist in alerting the Chairperson when members are requesting to speak. When using the virtual system, members are urged to refrain or desist from unnecessary points of order or interjections. We shall now proceed to the Order, which is a debate on Vote No 22 - Correctional Services, Appropriation Bill. I now recognise the hon Minister of Justice and Correctional Services. Hon Minister!
APPROPRIATION BILL
Debate on Vote 22 - Correctional Services:
The MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: Thank you very much, hon Acting House Chairperson. The Deputy Minister of Correctional Services, Nkosi Phathekile Holomisa, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, John Jeffery, Ministers and Deputy Ministers from sister departments, hon members of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, hon members, Acting National Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services, M S Thobakgale, the Inspecting Judge, Justice Edwin Cameron, members of the National Council for Correctional Services, and members of the parole boards across the country, we want to start by quoting our esteemed stalwart, Mme Charlotte Maxeke when she said, and I quote:
This work is not for yourselves. Kill that spirit of self and do not live above your people but live with them and if you can rise, bring someone with you.
As hon members would know, Mme Charlotte Maxeke was also the first woman in South Africa to be appointed as a probation officer at the Department of Correctional Services. History records that she was frequently seen in the courts in Benoni and Boksburg where she appeared on behalf of youth who committed various crimes seeking alternative sentences to incarceration. As we present the Budget Vote for the Department of Correctional Services, I can think of no better call to action to our officials across the board and the work of Mme Charlotte Maxeke, from the administrative capital in
Pretoria to our most remote centres in Malmesbury. In the work you do, seek no personal glory as this work is not for yourselves, but rather for all South Africans so that together, we can create a safer South Africa. We want to bring
together reformed parolees, victims of crime, rehabilitated
ex-offenders, civil society, and South Africans from all walks
of life and make South Africa rise in line with a vision by
progressive leaders like Mme Maxeke. We present before this
august House a budget amounting to R26,1 billion for the 2022-
23 financial year allocated as follows: R15,2 billion for
incarceration; R4,6 billion for administration; R2,6 billion
rands for care; R2,3 billion for rehabilitation; and lastly,
R1,2 billion for social reintegration. Government resources
are constrained; the Department of Correctional Services has
adopted an innovative way to save costs and efficiently use
the allocated resources.
One of the programmes we are using to cut costs in the
department is the Self-Sufficiency Strategic Framework with a
restorative justice element. So far, self-sufficiency has set
the department on the right course to save taxpayers money and
position the Department of Correctional Services to have a
restorative justice impact in communities. Together with the
Deputy Minister Holomisa, we took a policy decision affirming
that Correctional Services has to find means to self-sustain
itself in line with the Correctional Services Act. The
department has farms, land, dairies, bakeries, workshops and
many other amenities which position us to survive without
having to rely on government funding.
I am happy to inform this august House that vegetables costs
have also been significantly reduced in the department. Eight
management areas out of 48 are no longer buying cabbages,
spinach, beetroot and onions, they produce enough supply for
inmate rations. We will increase the number of management
areas that are able to do so in this financial year. Five
management areas, namely, Goedemoed in the Free State,
Kirkwood in the Eastern Cape, Rooigrond in the North West,
Waterval in KwaZulu-Natal and Zonderwater in Gauteng are now
fully sustainable on red meat, while Drakenstein in the
Western Cape and Zonderwater are also no longer procuring
chicken meat. The estimated cost savings, hon Acting House
Chairperson, I hope all hon members are listening, as a result
of implementing self-sufficiency initiatives in the department
amount to R163 million. I must repeat, hon Acting House
Chairperson, because this work is celebration by all South
Africans. The estimated cost savings as a result of
implementing self-sufficiency initiatives in the Department of
Correctional Services amount to R163 million which we have
saved the fiscus and we aim to invest back into the department
to do more, and I hope, hon members will notice this good work
done by officials and the offenders.
IsiZulu:
Bonke abenzi bobubi bayasebenza manje. Akusekho muntu ohlala
nje mahala.
English:
During this financial year, we will heighten production in our
livestock and plant production farms and textile workshops. We
have invested in new machinery that will assist in the mass
production of uniform for both inmates and officials. We are
currently training inmates and officials to run production
lines with our new machines. The target is simple, skill
inmates with functional skills and increase our production
capacity while they also learn skills that will enable them to
be productive in society upon release. Acting House
Chairperson, transferring skills to inmates remains an
important programme of the department. We want inmates, upon
their release to be productive in society.
The few incidents of parolees who reoffend in our communities
has really caused untold damage to the image of correctional
services. It has also caused untold damage and suffering to
the families of the victims and to the communities themselves.
I’m happy to see that the trial of the murder of Tazne van Wyk
has commenced in the Western Cape. I’m convinced that justice
will prevail, and I hope that this trial will send a clear an
unambiguous message to other parolees that reoffending does
not pay. I also would like to highlight the good work of some
of the rehabilitated offenders like parolee Andrew Moleko from
Marikana is one of them in the North West. He learned
entrepreneurial skills whilst incarcerated. He is currently
running a successful construction company that also employs a
number of parolees. He is one of our many parolees who are
good ambassadors of rehabilitation programmes of the
department. We commend the companies which gave him
opportunities and reiterate that a criminal record does not
render someone completely unemployable.
With limited human capital, our officials are doing
extraordinary work under difficult circumstances. We appeal to
communities not to deny parolees opportunities. We have seen
with parolees like Moleko that access to opportunities
contributes towards their rehabilitation.
During the 2021-22 financial year, 90% of sentenced offenders
with correctional sentence plans completed correctional
programmes. With regard to offender development, offenders
participate in long occupation skills programmes, short
occupational skills programmes, technical vocational education
and training, TVET, college programmes, general education and
training, further education and training and the Grade 12
National Senior Certificate. Offenders also receive
psychological, social and spiritual services.
Acting House Chairperson, the voted allocation for offender
development is supplemented through the National Skills Fund
allocations. The current agreement of R87,2 million for the
training of 5 480 offenders has been extended from 31 March
2022 to 31 March 2023. This funding ensures that more
offenders are provided needs based skills development
opportunities as part of their rehabilitation programme. The
accreditation of offender training facilities and workplaces
has been enhanced.
The Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector
Education and Training Authority assisted in formalising the
National Skills Development Management System, thus resulting
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in correctional facilities including Boksburg,
Kgosi Mampuru II, Drakenstein and Bizzah Makhathe being
approved to provide accredited programmes. We are also working
with the services Sector Education and Training Authority,
Seta, in accrediting female hairdressing sites salons at
Durban, Bizzah Makhathe, Pollsmoor and Worcester correctional
centres. Much work has been done in terms of addressing the
identified gaps and we are confident that we will meet all the
accreditation requirements. It is our resolve that all
training programmes offered in our correctional centres are
accredited and meet the industry standards.
Formal education has been doing extremely well over the years.
Our matriculants continue to surpass the national pass rate.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that we have registered
a new school in the KwaZulu-Natal Region, named
Sicebengolwazi, which when translated, means ‘armed with
knowledge’. This school is already operational, offering
Grades 10 to 12 subjects. The National Electronic Media
Institute of South Africa is another institution that we have
formalised a working partnership with, under the Department of
Communications and Digital Technologies. This partnership will
be piloting Microsoft digital literacy programmes to
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offenders. These partnerships are also explored with the
business sector and nongovernment organisations, NGOs, as we
enhance relations and collaboration for the purposes of
empowering offenders with skills for employability, job
preparedness and to create job opportunities.
The department is also looking at programmes that will empower
victims of crime. As reported in the previous financial year,
where we have had a victim of crime family, we are looking at
expanding. The department will also be extending correctional
programmes in this financial year to remand detainees. We have
developed structured programmes to assist remand detainees to
develop general life skills which they could apply during
detention and upon their release to prevent future offending
behaviour. The programmes will focus on several areas such as
emotional health and wellbeing, problem solving, intelligence,
and so forth. We are also encouraged that the National
Treasury has approved 100% retention of revenue we generate
through self-sufficiency. This is a major boost to the
programme as we will reinvest these resources towards its
growth. The department has commercialised its arts and crafts
products to enhance and self-sustain some of its programmes.
Various in-house projects with the use of inmates labour are
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currently underway to refurbish other amenities such as
kitchens, recreational facilities, and office accommodation.
Not everything in state needs to be outsourced, the state must
be a pioneer in some of the markets, hon members. It can’t be
a tender for everything. There are things that we can do and
we must do that.
What is now evident is that there is more ground that we can
cover through our in-house built programme. We are now
repairing tower posts to augment our security infrastructure.
The tower posts offer several advantages to our security
enterprise. An elevated or aerial view provides a bigger
spectrum where one official can effectively conduct monitoring
movement is also noticeable from an aerial position. As a
result, disturbances, be it outside cells or on the inside,
can be spotted in real time. This old technology still works.
The in-house built programme will also be covering the
construction of community corrections offices.
The Mpumalanga Department of Education has reached out to the
Department of Correctional Services on its Rhandza Xikolo Xa
Wena campaign that seeks to mobilise communities to always own
and safeguard their schools. It further encompasses repairing
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damaged school property. Deputy Minister Holomisa was on
Tuesday in Mpumalanga where the two departments signed a
Service Level Agreement for us to refurbish school furniture
for the Mpumalanga Department of Education through the
utilisation of offender labour. We have a similar agreement
with the Gauteng Department of Education, also with the
national Department of Education. This is born out of the type
of work that Correctional Services has been doing over years,
refurbishing damaged public infrastructure. Some of the
schools in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape
have had their infrastructure restored by Correctional
Services inmates. Fixing ceilings, painting walls, rendering
basic maintenance work and cleaning is in the package that
Department Correctional Services makes available through
offender labour.
Therefore, communities have welcomed this initiative. They see
it as offenders playing their role into paying back to society
and making a positive contribution. It also helps us with
reintegration. The departmental production workshops continue
to manufacture and supply furniture for various client
departments. Among them are the Departments of Justice and
Constitutional Development, Housing, Water and Sanitation. It
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is with a great sense of joy to announce that the Department
of Public Works and Infrastructure will be placing orders for
furniture with Correctional Services production workshops. An
increase in the orders placed means that we get our production
workshops to be more productive, as inmates cannot sit idle in
their cells. More inmates will be at work. More inmates will
be meaningfully occupied.
Hon members, overcrowding in our facilities continues to be a
perennial challenge that requires holistic attention in terms
of crime deterrence by our communities. For as long as people
continue to commit crime, we are thus left vulnerable to
possible overcrowding in correctional centres. Although there
has been a reduction in the inmate population over the years,
the correctional system remains under pressure. Over a period
of five years, from 2015-16 to 2020-21, we have recorded a
reduction of 12,99%. In real figures, we have moved from
161 984 to 140 948. Sadly, there continue to be spikes that we
encounter from time to time. We cannot avoid overcrowding if
society does not play its role to fight. Crime must be fought
and this will enable us to reduce the level of overcrowding in
our facilities.
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In terms of capital projects, it is worth mentioning that
construction of additional bed space at Parys has achieved 85%
completion and is scheduled to be finalised during the 2023-24
financial year. This upgrade project will provide an
additional 176 beds. The upgrade and refurbishment of the
Emthonjeni Youth Centre will regain a total of 640 bed spaces
and transform the centre into a state-of-the-art integrated
security systems facility. This project is scheduled for
completion during the 2022-23 financial year. Another
milestone is the refurbishment of the Umzimkhulu Correctional
Centre which was finalised during the 2021-22 financial year.
The facility will be operationalised during the current
financial year. These are great achievements on capital
projects.
Work is also continuing when it comes to the welfare of our
officials. The Waterval Management Area was struck by a
Tornado in 2019, leaving serious destruction to the centre and
the residential area of our officials. As a result, the
officials whose houses were damaged became displaced and had
to be relocated elsewhere on the terrain. We are pleased to
announce that the refurbishment of 42 staff houses will be
finalised during the month of June 2022.
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Hon members, allow me to provide an update on the matter
involving the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services
following a Constitutional Court judgement handed down on 4
December 2020. The Department of Correctional Services and
Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services, Jics, have
been working on the implementation of the judgment and the
creation of a Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services
Bill to ultimately replace sections 88A(1)(b), 88A(4) and 91
of the Correctional Services Act, 111 of 1998, as confirmed by
the Constitutional Court to be constitutionally invalid. We
remain hopeful that a solution will be found on the impasse to
ensure we comply with the judgement. It is now common
knowledge that the Department of Correctional Services, like
many other departments, suffered budget cuts. The compensation
of employees’ budget cuts amounts to R11 billion over the
Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period ending 2025.
Hon members, one of the challenges that the department is
faced with is the reality that the demand for services will
not stop or decline just because there is a budget cut.
Instead, service delivery expectations will continue to grow
irrespective of whether resources are commensurate with such
standards. Therefore, this challenge calls for a change in a
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manner that the department delivers its services. This will
inevitably have an effect on how services are delivered at the
head office. For the department to be persistent and
purposeful we are now decentralising some of the officials to
move from head office to area management.
Hon Acting House Chairperson, I am pleased to announce that
the Department of Correctional Services will be embarking on a
recruitment drive for learners. We are looking at over 3 000
opportunities which will diversify the skills set that we
intend attracting in our workforce. As hon members will be
aware we have not been able to recruit in the past two
financial years due to Covid-19. On the international front,
the department has committed to exchange programmes and
benchmarking visits in the areas of mutual interest which
include, staff training and development, security,
rehabilitation, reintegration, and parole administration. We
also participated in two ... thank you. I submit, hon Acting
House Chairperson. [Time expired.]
Mr G MAGWANISHE: Thank you very much, hon Chairperson, hon
Minister Ronald Lamola, hon Deputy Minister Nkosi Phathekile
Holomisa, Ministers and Deputy Ministers present, inspecting
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judge, Judge Edwin Cameron, Acting National Commissioner, Mr
Thobakgale, distinguished guests and hon members, this Budget
Vote Debate takes place at a time while the country is still
trying to understand the impact of the devastating floods
which wreaked havoc in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape in April
2022.
We are pleased to hear that the Department of Correctional
Services, through their Self-Sufficiency and Sustainability
Model contributed towards the social relief effort in KwaZulu-
Natal.
When Minister Lamola presented his political overview of the
Budget to the committee, reported that items such as eggs,
meat, milk and bread, which were produced by inmates were
donated to the needy families and this brought much-needed
relief to communities.
We are also pleased to hear that the Department of
Correctional Services has removed items such as eggs and pork
from their procurement list as a result of the self-sufficient
and sustainability initiatives.
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In our budget report, as the committee, we have recommended
that the Department of Correctional Services should add more
items their list in order to address the current budget
constraints facing the department.
In our visit to correctional centres, we have observed that
Self-Sufficient and Sustainability Model is bearing fruits for
the department and the Minister has alluded to some of them.
In Tzaneen, for instance, the committee noted with
appreciation that in 2021-22 financial year, the centre did
not procure any vegetables in the market because they produced
95 417 kilograms of vegetables, saving the centre over
R692 000. In Boksburg Correctional Centre, they produce one of
the best furniture through offender labour. These products are
sold to other government departments. The furniture for the
building of the High Court in Middelburg has been produced in
Boksburg Correctional Centre.
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the class of 2021 inmates
matrics managed to achieve an impressive 89,93% pass rate.
This is an improvement from the 81% achieved in the 2020
academic year. The committee would like to congratulate
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Usethubeni Youth School for achieving 100% pass rate for the
last five consecutive years.
Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate the best
learner in the Department of Correctional Services facilities,
Mr Khanyile Faba from Brandvlei Youth School for achieving
88,71%. These results are evidence that when an opportunity is
given to young people, that can change their lives for the
better is through education.
The committee calls upon the department to invest more in
education, skills development and rehabilitation in
correctional facilities. In order to realize this, there
should be a significant shift in a way the department
structure their budget. Currently, rehabilitation programme is
only allocated 10% of the overall budget of the department,
while incarceration takes 56% of the budget. This is against
the spirit of the White Paper on Corrections, which states
that rehabilitation should be at the centre of the
departmental activities.
Community correction is an important component to facilitate
social integration of parolees into the community. A number of
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challenges confront our community corrections on a daily
basis.
During our oversight visit to different centres across
provinces, we observed that there was a high number of
absconders in the system of community corrections. There is a
need to strengthen the system of community correction so that
the community should feel safe and have faith in the parole
system. In the same breath, the department is calling upon to
finalize the review of the parole system in general.
Victims of crime are an important stakeholder in the
administration of our criminal justice system. The department
should do more to educate our communities about the important
right of victim of crime to make representation during parole
hearings of offenders. More effort should also be put in
encouraging victims and offenders to participate in victim-
offender dialogues. The involvement of victims and the
community in correctional matters is an important milestone in
realizing the objectives of the White Paper on Corrections to
ensure that corrections become a societal responsibility.
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The Department of Correctional Services has over the years
been a subject to a number of investigations over
maladministration and corruption. This has put the image of
the department in a negative light. We call upon the
department to reverse this by implementing consequence
management in all deserving cases.
The Department of Correctional Services is a labour-intensive
department. The White Paper on Corrections says, and I quote:
“Every member is a rehabilitator”. Our oversight visit gave us
an opportunity to observe first-hand the hard work done by
officials of the department in rehabilitating the offenders
under their care. During these visits, we also learned with
disappointments that there are officials who bring contrabands
such as drugs, dagga and cellphones into the correctional
centres. The department must ensure that all those found
guilty of such misconduct and criminal acts must face serious
consequences.
The Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services, under the
leadership of the inspecting judge, Judge Edwin Cameron
continues to carry out their mandate with great distinction.
As a committee, we reaffirm our support for the work done by
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the inspectorate. Currently, the inspectorate is finalizing
its business operating model which should assist them to
function better than the current arrangement where they need
to heavily rely on the Department of Correctional Services,
the very same department they must oversee.
As the committee, we are concerned that up to now, we do not
have a permanent Commissioner of Correctional Services. The
challenges at Correctional Services needs stability at all
levels of strategic leadership.
Lastly, as a committee, we are deeply concerned that as
Parliament, once again, we might not meet the constitutional
deadline with respect to the Sonke Gender Justice
Constitutional ruling. The Bill has not yet been introduced in
Parliament. We plead for a speedy introduction of the Bill by
the executive. Hon members, please support us in supporting
this Budget Vote of the Department of Correctional Services.
Thank you.
Mr J N ENGELBRECHT: Chairperson, I have no intention to repeat
all the very nicely articulated points of the department’s
vision, mission and mandate as is so often done during
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occasions such as this. We are here to perform an oversight
role and assess performance. In terms of that,
underperformance, understaffing and underspending by
R1,3 billion are the major achievements of the department with
key management positions remaining unfilled, the ratio of
members to inmates remains decidedly unsatisfactory, escapes
being a regular occurrence along with the significant risks
and danger associated with it.
A very significant challenge the Correctional Services has to
face is the budget cuts necessitated by the prevailing
economic climate and the declining state. In the department’s
2022-23 annual performance plan it stated that:
The reduction and reversal of the wage agreement over the
2021 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, will
continue to have a negative effect on the funded
establishment of the department during the 2022 MTEF. The
department will be required to reduce its staff
complement which will negatively affect new initiatives.
I think this is an understatement to say the least. This
budget allocation will add in preventing the department from
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fulfilling its constitutional mandate effectively. I don’t
know if the involvement of the department in terms of state
capture had a subconscious influence during the budget
allocation process, but it can’t be denied that the blight
Bosasa left on Correctional Services was severe. Parliament
would however only be able to deal with this once the Speaker
ceases to stall the process. The sooner this can commence the
better. The manner of how this is going to be dealt with will
be a determining factor in assessing the credibility of
Parliament as an institution by our citizens.
During a recent oversight visit conducted by the committee,
the majority of serious challenges the committee came across
can be ascribed to a failure by the Department of Public Works
to fulfil its most basic function. [Recording stopped.]
... it has progressed to the point where ...
Correctional Services had to make alternative plans to try and
do maintenance work on facilities where they could. This trend
will continue and probably be expanded upon in future, because
the one thing every department is certain of when it comes to
Public Works is that it cannot be relied upon. This might be a
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blessing in disguise, to quote the hon James Selfe, I quote,
“Prisons work where prisoners”.
Instead of paying Public Works [Recording stopped.] to do
shoddy maintenance, skilled prisoners can be utilised to
maintain the facilities and do something constructive. I can’t
think of a single reason that would motivate the continued
existence of Public Works as a government department. Those
prisons visited during recent oversight where prisoners
worked, were in a much better position than those where all
inmates had to do all day was to hang about with little to no
exercise and nothing constructive to occupy their waking
hours.
Rehabilitation is a core programme of the Department. The
White Paper on Corrections of 2005 states that rehabilitation
is at the centre of departmental activities. Yet the
rehabilitation programme is the six smallest allocated
programme of the total allocation for the department in 2022-
23, amounting to R2,319 billion. With notable exceptions,
little is offered in the way of improving the skills-set of
inmates making a mockery of the rehabilitation aspect of the
department. While most of us do not want to hear this, it is a
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fact that inmates have very little chance of leaving prison a
better person than when they entered prison. [Recording
stopped.]
The ACTING CHAIRPERSON (Mr M G Mahlaule): Hon Engelbrecht, can
you try again, you are muted. Can you unmute yourself? You can
proceed.
Mr J N ENGELBRECHT: Finding employment upon leaving prison is
understandably difficult, since little to no rehabilitation
has taken place. If we are to address this very serious social
problem, then a lot more needs to be spent on the
rehabilitation programme, and serious attention needs to be
paid to rehabilitation holistically.
Currently, South Africa has a very high reoffending rate.
According to the National Institute for Crime Prevention and
the Reintegration of Offenders, Nicro, it is at 87%. For as
long as we ignore rehabilitation as an imperative part of the
Correctional Services’ responsibility, this will not come
down, and this will also continue to drive the crime rate up.
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The prison system suffers under overpopulation. Apart from
erecting new facilities ... [Recording stopped.]
The ACTING CHAIRPERSON (Mr M G Mahlaule): Hon Engelbrecht!
Mr W F FABER: Chairperson, on a point of order. It seems we
have a connectivity problem, but I also see that one other
member gets on the line and it obviously disturb the signal of
the hon Engelbrecht. Let us see if we can get him back because
I see there was another member who was interrupting. Thanks,
Chair.
The ACTING CHAIRPERSON (Mr M G Mahlaule): No, it cannot be
true that someone was online because it was a video only from
the hon Msimang. I am watching the proceedings. You are left
with 30 seconds, hon Engelbrecht. I will give you another 30
seconds. You can proceed.
Mr J N ENGELBRECHT: [Recording stopped.] ... it needs urgent
attention. By allocating a meagre 4.6% of the budget to social
reintegration will surely not assist in improving the
situation. These are but a few of the biggest challenges I
have identified given the time available. I truly hope that
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the Bosasa affair, which we still have to deal with, would be
the last we see of political meddling and its devastating
consequences for our country. I wish the officials of
Correctional Services all the best. Thank you very much.
Ms Y N YAKO: Chairperson, the EFF rejects Budget Vote 22 on
Correctional Services. Today, the South African prison
populations sits at over 155 000 inmates while the official
capacity of our correctional centre is for 110 000 inmates.
There also crowding of correctional centres makes it
impossible for any correctional lessons to take place. The
prisons have become a breeding ground for hardened criminals.
There are centres in which the collusion between convicted
criminals and prison officials produces the bloodiest of
crimes.
They are incubation centres for diseases, for crime which is
planned and organised from the inside and perpetuated by those
in the outside.
When we adopted our new constitutional order we wanted to have
our correctional centres as rehabilitation centres because
punishment for crime has to be corrective and not punitive.
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The Department of Correctional Services has failed in almost
all aspects in reorientating focus to the rehabilitation to
these prisons. Toping to this failure is the deeply rooted
corruption in this department. Take for example, the case of
Mr Nxele, the regional commissioner for Correctional Services
in KwaZulu-Natal. For the past few years Mr Nxele has been
fighting a very brutal system in the department relating to
his suspension as a regional commissioner. In each and every
platform, arbitration or even court cases he has been
repeatedly cleared of wrong doing and the department has been
asked to reinstate him back to his job. This department led by
a lawyer who projects himself as a crusader for justice has
ignored court rulings relating to the reinstatement of the
KwaZulu-Natal regional commissioner. Why are you doing this,
Mr Lamola?
To this date, the department has not cleared the air in as far
in its corrupt dealing with Bosasa is concerned. While Bosasa
might not be in the picture anymore, there are people who
enabled the looting of the state resources in that department
and are still there. Even though Bosasa as a company might not
be involved anymore the infrastructure for corruption is still
there. There is no reason to why an outside company should
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have been contracted to provide food to inmates anyway for
that matter. As we have seen in our oversight visit inmates
themselves can be used to produce food on the vast lands the
department owns. Inmate can be trained to prepare this food as
part of their life training to enable them to lead productive
lives when they get released from jail.
Minister, the last time we checked remanded detainees made up
almost a third of the South African prison population and some
of these people have been in remand custody for over five
years. This speaks to the inefficiencies of the administration
in the criminal justice system, particularly that it has its
way in which the magistrate courts deal with cases of pity
crimes. These remanded detainees have no access to
rehabilitative activities that convicted detainees have. This
area must be addressed. Magistrates must expedite matters
before them to ensure that there is finality in cases.
Lastly, Minister, we condemn the privatisation of correctional
centres at your department seems to be mounting lately. The
contract for the management of the Mangaung correctional
facility awarded to the British Security Firm G4S as well as
that of the management of the Kutama Sinthumule Correctional
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Centre in Limpopo are a serious blights on the ability of the
country to manage its own affairs. We must learn lessons from
countries such as the US that have privatised prisons and see
how deeply corrupt and inhumane the system of private prisons
is. It is sad that all these reactionary developments in our
justice system are happening under the leadership of a young
person who once prided himself as a revolutionary. You have
simply become a disgrace over the past few years, Minister.
You are an embarrassment to the generation you once proclaimed
to be leading. Therefore, we reject this budget.
Prof C T MSIMANG: Hon House Chair, it is undeniable that the
COVID-19 pandemic had a great impact on the management of our
correctional facilities, and presented a unique public health
problem. This situation forced the government to, for once,
take action and deal with the long standing issue of
overcrowding in our correctional facilities, which and
continues to be a serious problem.
According to the latest report of the Judicial Inspectorate
for Correction Services, the impact of the special
dispensation authorised by the President to bring forward
parole and dates of 19 000 non-violent incarcerated persons in
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May 2020, coupled with directives or measures to prevent the
spread of the virus in January 2021, undeniably had a direct
impact on reducing overcrowding.
In March 2020 the national overcrowding rate according to the
report was at 32% whereas in March 2021 the rate massively
reduced to 23%. This is enormous accomplishment. However, it
begs the question of why it took a pandemic for the department
to take action and address a long-standing explosive
situation. To applaud the department for its efforts denies
the cold-heart fact that this reality has been compounded over
the years. Very little action has been taken by the department
despite meticulous reports of the Judicial Inspectorate of the
state of our correctional facilities.
The issue of overcrowding and bed space at our correctional
facilities remains a critical issue demanding prompt action.
Although the IFP welcomes the reports by the department
regarding the building of new correctional centres and
upgrades to facilities such as the Emthonjeni Correctional
centre which is apparently estimated to provide an additional
640 beds. Much more needs to be done.
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The IFP remains highly concerned about the reports of security
breaches at correctional facilities such as the disturbing
report in September last year when two inmates serving
sentences of rape and murder escaped from Leeuwkop
Correctional centre after which they allegedly kidnapped an
infant during a house robbery. This type of serious security
breach sharply calls into question the issue of consequence
management as well as infrastructure concerns.
In conclusion, the IFP also wishes to stress its concern over
the filling of critical vacancies in the department. The IFP
accepts that the stark reality of budgetary reduces inevitably
has a great impact on the department and its capacity, but the
speed of filling critical vacancies is worrisome. It recent
briefings by the department, it became clear to the portfolio
committee that the position of a permanent National
Commissioner will, in all likelihood, to be filled before
August 2022, which is unacceptable. The IFP will closely
monitor the situation and interrogate the department’s
recruitment processes. The IFP supports the Budget Vote, and I
thank you, hon House Chair.
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Mr F J MULDER: Hon House Chair, the rights of inmates are not
an isolated issue, they have the potential to directly and
indirectly affect all of us. Prisoners as people constitute
part of society and the department should carry out its
mandate to rehabilitate offenders in their care that they can
change their behaviour and become productive members of
society upon their release.
If the mandate of the department is amongst others to
rehabilitate offenders in a correctional facility in their
care, as the name of the department says, so that they can
change their behaviour and become productive members of
society upon release, the question should be asked then, how
could it be then that the rehabilitation programme is the
second smallest allocated programme in terms of budget for the
2022-23 financial year. This programme was only allocated 8,6%
of the total budget of the Department for Correctional
services.
Hon House Chair, in the 2021 budget report, the committee
raised concerns about the ability of the community corrections
systems to effectively manage the additional 19 000 parolees
who were to be released. The department was requested to
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provide the committee with detailed plans on how community
corrections will manage the additional numbers. To date the
committee has not received that requested information. This
House should know what happened to the 19 000 parolees and how
they were managed after their release.
It is unacceptable for the department not to have responded to
the committee. The department should ensure that spending for
the current financial year is prioritised because the
financial allocation to the department will be reduced in
2024-25 financial year. Therefore, the Freedom Front Plus
cannot support this Vote. Thank you.
Mr S N SWART: House Chair and hon Minister, the ACDP is fully
aware of the severe overcrowding at many of the correctional
centres, and this negatively impacts on inmates’
rehabilitation. One of the ways of addressing this is to
reduce the number of awaiting trial detainees, many of whom
may not be guilty of the crimes they are charged with.
The Zondo Commission report highlighted that the department
was captured by Bosasa. What makes these finding particularly
galling, is that it follows the Jali Commission of Inquiry
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into bribery and corruption at the department some years ago.
Very little seems to have been done to implement the Jali
Commission recommendations to prevent a reoccurrence of what
we have witnessed, and it will be important to ensure that
additional bands are made available in correctional centres to
ensure that all those comrades implicated in state capture and
corruption can be issued with orange overalls after the funds
they stole have been recovered.
As far as the committee’s report is concerned, the ACDP shared
concerns that the department underspent its budget by
R569million. We question why the department should be
allocated more funds when they were not able to spend their
full allocation. Closer monitoring of the department’s
spending is most definitely required. The ACDP is pleased that
the rehabilitation will now also be offered to remanded
detainees, but as other speakers indicated, the skewed
allocation of the budget in favour of incarceration and
administration to the disadvantage of rehabilitation and
social integration is regrettable. Rehabilitation should be at
the centre of all activities.
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We raised the issue of restorative justice programmes in
centres and welcome the fact that there will be re-introduced
after the COVID-19 lockdown. Lastly, the ACDP shares concerns
about the slow pace of infrastructure projects in the
department. A number of projects have been delayed for several
years, including the Tzaneen Correctional Centre which was
only officially opened in 2020, some 20 years since the
project commenced. This is totally unacceptable. We are
equally concerned about security systems that are not
operational in a number of facilities, including at Tzaneen
and Grootvlei centres. The budget must respond to the security
needs in facilities to ensure the safe and secure
incarceration of inmates as well as focusing on
rehabilitation. I thank you.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
RESPONSIBLE FOR CORRECTIONAL SERVICES (Inkosi S P Holomisa):
Hon House Chairperson, Mr Mahlaule, Minister of Justice and
Correctional Services, Mr Ozzy Lamola, Deputy Minister of
Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr John Jeffery,
chairperson and members of the portfolio committee, hon
members, members of the public, good afternoon.
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South Africa’s National Development Plan, NDP, calls for,
amongst others, the building of safe communities and the
promotion of social cohesion. To this end, in contributing
toward safe and empowered communities through sustainable
economic development, one of the strategic focus areas of the
Department of Correctional Services is the social
reintegration of all those in its care. The Department of
Correctional Services regards the effective social
reintegration of offenders as the most challenging and most
crucial aspect of their rehabilitation. The Department of
Correctional Services also realises that this is the point at
which offenders are at their most vulnerable in their
progression to sustainable correction and rehabilitation.
Through the implementation of the Department of Correctional
Services Social Reintegration Framework, the department seeks
to create platforms and avenues for active participation and
involvement of various stakeholders in the advancement of
rehabilitation and social reintegration of offenders.
The framework maps out processes to reposition the system of
community corrections by professionalising core functions of
social reintegration, actively engaging the community and
relevant stakeholders in the rehabilitation process as well as
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providing interventions and services that are responsive to
the risks and needs of parolees and probationers to eliminate
reoffending and improve public safety. The Social
Reintegration programme is expected to spend R3,5 billion over
the medium-term, and 89,3% of the total budget of the
programme, amounting to R3,1 billion, is allocated to the
supervision sub-programme.
Over the medium term, R141,8 million, which is 4,1% of the
total programme allocation, will be spent on leased community
corrections offices. The department continues to facilitate
restorative justice by also increasing the number of victims
participating in restorative justice programmes from 4 100 in
2022-23 to 5 300 in 2024-25. These dialogues are budgeted for
in the community reintegration sub-programme, with an
allocation of R198,3 million over the Medium-Term Expenditure
Framework period. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the
execution of social reintegration processes, resulting in
reduced physical monitoring of offenders and restorative
justice processes such as Victim-Offender-Dialogues and
Victim-Offender-Mediations.
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For the past three years, the Department of Correctional
Services has recorded a 99% success rate of parolees and
probationers complying with conditions of release. Although
those who violated their conditions constituted 1%, some of
them committed serious and violent crimes. The rate of
recidivism in South Africa is widely believed to be
unacceptably high. This deduction, however, is not very
reliable, as there is currently no reliable system for
monitoring recidivism, or analysing the trends in this regard,
and thus such a system will have to be developed and put in
place.
In order for us to develop an understanding of the causes of
reoffending and the effectiveness of rehabilitation and
reintegration initiatives, the Department of Correctional
Services has embarked upon a scientific research programme.
The extent to which societal institutions such as the family
unit and other community institutions embrace correction as
one of their basic functions will have an impact on successful
social reintegration, as well as the future rate of
reoffending.
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The University of South Africa is committed to providing
guidance on the recognition of prior learning for the
educational growth of community corrections officials. The
Department of Home Affairs will extend its mobile services to
offenders, parolees and correctional officials and will grant
access to system reports to down-manage archived absconders
such as death notifications. The SA Police Service will
process sample lists at their Criminal Record Centres for
system-generated reports for absconders. Available community
service hubs will be extended to parolees and probationers,
including access to economic opportunities, and joint
operations with the SAPS will be intensified to trace
absconders.
The ageing vehicle fleet, across the 218 community corrections
offices, has been a common feature. The national drive to
capacitate community corrections offices with an efficient
fleet of vehicles has been realised, as 519 vehicles were
sourced for community corrections across the country which
addressed 98% of the registered national need. This
intervention will result in community corrections officials
being sufficiently resourced to meet service delivery
expectations to communities. Community Corrections has also
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expedited the supply of other tools of trade, in line with
resolutions stemming from the 2019 Community Corrections
Indaba. The project to distribute laptops is underway as part
of the drive to improve the job effectiveness of community
corrections officials.
As per the White Paper on Corrections, the promotion of the
spirit and practice of goodwill and sincere interaction
between offenders and their communities and families, and
within the correctional centre community, is a vehicle through
which rehabilitation can be promoted. Across South Africa,
Correctional Services continues to avail various support
measures, including donations from our officials’ own pockets,
as well as food donations such as vegetables, eggs, pork and
beef from our agricultural farms, abattoirs and production
workshops. We also provide assistance on infrastructural work,
relating to the construction of buildings, electrical work,
tiling, painting, plumbing and general labour through our
artisans, offenders and parolees amongst others. It is thus
prudent for citizens to experience that the skills and talents
inmates acquire behind bars are not offered only for the
benefit of offenders, but must be utilised in supporting
developmental infrastructure projects and community-led
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initiatives toward ensuring that all people in South Africa
are and feel safe.
Over the past year, oversight visits to various Department of
Correctional Services Management Areas gave us first-hand
experience on the challenges facing the staff of the
department, who operate at the coalface of our operations,
that is, the correctional centres, as well as the opportunity
to engage with inmates. Coupled with these visits, we have
also undertaken a number of community outreach initiatives in
partnership with our social partners who include among others
SABC’s Umhlobo Wenene FM, Metropolitan Life, Avbob and Old
Mutual. For instance, on 29 March 2022, together with the
Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services, we undertook
a working visit to the Upington Management Area in the Free
State-Northern Cape Region, where we also handed over dignity
packs, comprising sanitary towels and boxer shorts, to young
girls, as well as school backpacks to young boys, in
partnership with Old Mutual and Metropolitan Life, at Oranje
Oewer Primary School. A vegetable garden has also been
established at the school and, like others elsewhere, is being
maintained by parolees and probationers. During the same
Upington working visit, the department entered into a
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memorandum of understanding, MOU, with Marcus Mbetha Sindisa
Secure School, under the auspices of the Northern Cape
Department of Education. In terms of the MOU, parolees will be
trained in the manufacture of various wood products, including
coffins, as part of their ongoing rehabilitation programme.
The coffins will be given as charitable assistance to
underprivileged families in the Dawid Kruiper Local
Municipality.
The relationship between the Department of Correctional
Services and the community, CBOs, NGOs and FBOs is a sine qua
non to the successful achievement of the rehabilitation and
reintegration of offenders. In this regard, the department
adopted the Mthatha-based Khwezi Lokusa Special School for the
Cerebral Palsied and Orthopedically Challenged Learners. In
terms of this arrangement, we committed ourselves to
continually providing cleaning, gardening and maintenance
services, using parolee and probationer labour. This model has
been successfully replicated at Retlametswe Special School in
Mahikeng, where we also provided the school with fresh farm
produce from the Rooigrond Correctional Centre. We are
perforce constantly looking for opportunities in our
communities where, within the parameters of the Self-
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Sufficiency and Sustainability Framework, we can be agents of
positive change. Uppermost in our minds in our interventions
as leadership, is to create a conducive working environment
for our employees to be able to discharge their duties
unhindered, and motivated. To underline our commitment to the
wellbeing of our employees the department recently hosted a
successful three-day Integrated Employee Health and Wellness
Summit in St Albans in the Eastern Cape during which effective
strategies were developed to cater for the physical, social,
spiritual and financial needs of officials who routinely
perform their duties under risky and stressful conditions.
Without the leadership and support of the chairperson and
members of the Justice and Correctional Services Portfolio
Committee, the work of the department will be constrained and
I would therefore wish to place on record our sincere thanks
and appreciation to them even to those opposed to the adoption
of this budget. I also wish to thank the Inspecting Judge,
Edwin Cameron, and his office for their enthusiasm and
frankness in our engagements. A special word of gratitude goes
to our dedicated and hands-on Minister, Hon Ronald Ozzy
Lamola, as well as all the Department of Correctional Services
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officials led by Acting National Commissioner Makgothi
Thobakgale. I thank you.
The ACTING CHAIRPERSON (Mr F D Xasa): Thank you very much, hon
Deputy Minister. Minister and hon members, good afternoon. Can
I indicate immediately that the next speaker, hon Newhoudt-
Druchen will have nine minutes, as saved by hon Magwanishe.
Can I recognise hon Newhoudt-Druchen. Over to you, ma’am.
Ms W S NEWHOUDT-DRUCHEN: Thank you, hon Acting Chairperson.
Greetings to everyone, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, Mr
Holomisa, hon Deputy Minister, Mr John Jeffery and all the hon
members on this platform, and those watching this debate. On 1
May 2022, the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional
Services received the presentation from the Department of
Correctional Services on a 2022 annual performance plan.
Chairperson, while the vision of the department is to provide
the best correctional services to the safer South Africa, and
the mission of the department is to contribute to adjust
peaceful and safer South Africa through effective and humane
incarceration of inmates, rehabilitation and social welfare
intervention of the offenders.
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The White Paper on Corrections of 2005 states that, the
rehabilitation is the center of departmental activities,
making it a core programme of the department. Social welfare
integration provides services focused on offender’s
preparation for release. The effective supervision of
offenders placed under the system of community corrections and
the facilitation of the social welfare integration into
communities. The rehabilitation and social welfare integration
programme received the smallest allocation budget, and
together, they account for only 14%.
Rehabilitation is 9% and social welfare integration accounts
for 5% of the total budget for 2022-23 financial year.
Rehabilitation programme has 3 304 personnel which is up from
1 735 personnel in 2021-22, and 73,8% of the budget which is
R1,7 135 billion which is allocated to the compensation of the
employees. The social welfare integration programme, is one of
the two smallest programmes both in terms of budget and the
number of the employees. Social welfare integration allocated
90% of its budget to the compensation of the employees. It
also has the lowest personnel headcount which is 1 954, and
the lowest expenditure of R685 million.
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In the department’s 2022 annual performance plan document,
they mention the risk register being inadequate systems for
successful mere integration of offenders into the communities
as law abiding citizens, and secondly, inadequate provision
and access to need based rehabilitation programmes services to
inmates into psychosocial correctional, spiritual and care. As
per the 2022 Estimates of the National Expenditure, ENE,
allocations to the rehabilitation programme is expected to
spend R7,1 billion over the medium-term. This is 9,1 of the
total vote allocation pf which R54 million is allocated in the
implementation of self-sufficiency and sustainable strategic
framework.
The social welfare integration programme has a negative
average growth from 2021-22 to 2024-25, which is about minus
3,37%. The programme is expected to spend 3,5 billion over the
medium-term, which is 4,4% of the total vote allocation. The
committee continues to be concerned about the scare allocation
of the budget of the Department of Correctional Services in
favour of incarceration and administration, to the
disadvantage of or deserving programmes such as rehabilitation
and social integration. The committee would like to emphasise
that the White Paper on Corrections states that,
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rehabilitation should be at the center of all the departmental
activities, as mentioned earlier.
It is against this background that the committee call upon the
department to ensure that the budget responds to the call by
the White Paper on Corrections. The overcrowding challenge is
still one of the most vexing problems facing the department,
as it stretches resources, hampers efforts of rehabilitation
and ultimately contributes to escapes, injuries and unnatural
deaths within the correctional services facility. Overcrowding
is still relevant today as it was more than 50 years ago when
correctional centers were 40% overcrowded.
On the international platform, overcrowding continues to be a
prevalent phenomenon that it has a long history of
contributing to insufficient accommodation, inappropriate and
aging infrastructure, as well as increasing levels of
incarceration and South Africa has no exception. The
department’s target for overcrowding is less than 32% in 2022-
23 financial year, while in 2023-24, it will be less than 34%
and less than 36% in 2024-25. In the previous financial year,
the target for this indicator was less than 28%. However, in
2020-21, the department has managed to achieve its target
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under this indicator when overcrowding stood at less than 27%
against the target of less than 38%.
This target was achieved due to the implementation of the 2019
special remission and the special parole dispensation to
release the offenders who reached a minimum detention period
within the period of 60-months sentence to nonviolent crimes.
These releases were also response to COVID-19 pandemic
outbreak. This practices to reduce overcrowding, calls for
concerted and comprehensive efforts on the part of the entire
Criminal Justice System, CJS, involving the co-operation and
co-ordination of all criminal justice stakeholders. We as the
ANC recommends for the support of Vote 22. Thank you,
Chairperson
The ACTING CHAIRPERSON (Mr F D Xasa): We will now recognize
the hon Hendricks of Al Jamah-ah. Hon Hendricks is not there.
We will now call hon Horn who happens to have an additional
two minutes.
Mr W HORN: Thank you, Acting House Chairperson. The successful
rehabilitation of sentenced offenders is one of the core
functions of the Department of Correctional Services, DCS.
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The Minister today has shared some of examples of parolees
who’ve gone on to achieve success in life and economic success
for that matter. While these ought to be celebrated the
exception to the rule can unfortunately never be used to
disprove the rule.
A number of factors negatively impact rehabilitation efforts
in correctional centers up to the point where it’s doubtful
where every inmate in the South African correctional centers
are afforded a fair chance to be rehabilitated.
While the, DCS, insist that experts and professionals
developed a content of rehabilitation programme. The Annual
Performance Plan does not contain any target aimed at
measuring the efficacy of the content of programmess or the
implementation thereof.
The DCS uses the mantra that every official is a
rehabilitating official which on face value seems to indicate
the seriousness with which DCS is views this responsibility.
However, we all know that administration officials and even
some other uniformed officials well maybe performing work
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essential to the functioning of correctional centers never
have direct contact with inmates.
To include these officials when calculating the ratio of
officials to offenders unfortunately prevents a reliable
calculation and in no way accurately reflects whether the real
human resources allocated to offender rehabilitation is
sufficient.
Another issue is the lack of involvement of experts and
professionals in the field of psychology, criminology and
other social sciences to ensure proper implementation of
content driven programmes. In this regard, there is firstly an
insufficient number of professionals on the staff
establishment for correctional centers. In the face of further
budget cuts the real question is whether DCS is willing and
able to relook at its staff establishment in order to ensure
that this issue is addressed.
Secondly, the inability of DCS to prevent perennially high
vacancy rate in respect of the already too small professional
components on its top structure compounds this problem. Added
to this, the apparent inability of DCS to recruit sufficient
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number of artisans to ensure that all workshops operate at
full capacity, which in turn will also maximize the vocation
of training component of rehabilitation if achieved. And it’s
clear that rehabilitation is unfortunately not the obsession
it should be.
Chair, rehabilitation is also severely hamstrung by the
overcrowding of facility. The realities that the best
rehabilitation programme in the world will fail in
circumstances we inmates live in overcrowded facilities.
Overcrowding in our facilities remain very high despite the
frequent earlier release of sentenced offenders by this
government.
Minister, in your maiden Budget Vote speech in 2019, you
announced that the addition of bed spaces through a built
programme was to be a key component of the plan to address
overcrowding. Yet, in terms of projects for new builds since
then, only Parys, which will add less than 300 bed spaces, has
commenced and Burgersdorp and Lichtenburg has been put on ice,
due to what is called a “lack of funds”.
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While the Minister in his debate claim despite this that the
build programme is something that needs to be celebrated. The
department meanwhile on 4 May when we had our budget
engagement with them confirmed that only in the last year 2
000 bed spaces were lost at our centers due the fact that
centers, or part of it had to be decommissioned because it has
become so dilapidated that it had to be declared to be no
longer fit for use.
Minister, while your sentiment that crime prevention is to be
a key component of our programme and our drive to prevent
overcrowding going forward, is a good sentiment. The question
also has to be asked, if you and the Department of Justice as
intended is going to ramp up and speed up prosecution of the
thousands of cases on the criminal backlog roll. Is it really
realistic to say that we must work towards preventing crime in
order to prevent further overcrowding and the growth of
overcrowding in our centers?
Chair, the Minister seem to have argued that the commendable
self-sufficiency project of DCS illustrates an overall culture
of prudent use of public funds. Unfortunately, it does not.
Apart from the budgets for build programmes always
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overrunning, if there is one project that clearly shows that
this Department is still spending as if they are able to print
their own money it is the Integrated Inmate Management System
project.
Advised, at the time of awarding the initial R378 million
tender to Integritron in 2016, by National Treasury, that not
only was this company prohibited from doing business with
government, black listed. But also that the project
specifications were setting the project up for failure. The
contract was nonetheless awarded, ran out and produced very
little.
In the face of growing criticism, the department has on
different occasions presented different future pathways. At
first Integritron tried their best to make us believe that the
complete the project without being paid another cent, was to
be delivered by Integritron.
Then the project was to be completed by in-house specialists
and of late other government entities is seemingly assisting.
Targets on further development milestones and specifically
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roll out are however never met, but budget allocation remains
a top priority of DCS even in the face of further budget cuts.
Minister, under your watch DCS is not winning the war on
overcrowding or prudent financial management, and consequently
rehabilitation efforts is at best far below par. Thank you,
Chair.
Mr Q R DYANTYI: Hon Acting House Chairperson, I just want to
speak about the four issues Chair just to demonstrate the
clarity of policy of the ANC. I also want to talk about the
things that do not work at the same time share those things
that we know are working. At the end I will reflect at the
incidentals of the opposition party.
The ACTING CHAIRPERSON (Mr F D Xasa): Hon Dyantyi, we lost you
there.
Mr Q R DYANTYI: Ouch sorry Chair. The ANC having to convert
from the inhuman and colonial apartheid prisons which
dehumanise inmates leaving a culture of violence and despair
into correctional centres. The purpose of the correctional
system is to contribute on the maintaining and protecting a
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just, peace and safe society. The objectives of the
rehabilitation process as summarised in the White Paper are
there to correct offender behaviour, enhance human development
and promote positive social values.
I think Minister having listened especially to the opposition,
it is best that we get into a conversation ourselves about the
kind of things we have put in place in this country. We are
taking the responsibility of the correctional centres. The ANC
has been very consistent and its commitment towards
rehabilitation. We can go back to Ready to Govern when we
introduced this concept of rehabilitation. We can go back to
1997 when we said it is important to create appropriate
warder-inmate ratios. We also do a training and screening of
warders. Even beyond that, in 2002 we emphasised a need for a
system to be adequately resourced, which is corrections. In
2012, we said we are concerned about our quality of our
rehabilitation system and the parole system.
Very recently in 2017, as part of that clarity on policy we
have made a point Minister that says that the Department of
Correctional Service has to work regularly with the SA Police
Service to deal with some of the overcrowding issues. I am
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going to make an example of that. Recently, we have launched
and led a process of what we call an Enhanced Oversight Model
whose purpose is to focus on the outcomes and the impact of
our public funds. In taking this initiative in January 2022,
we now have a better clarity and understanding on the things
that work and amongst those, we now know and everybody else
and has confirmed from the Ministry that these self-
sufficiency initiatives across the board are working. We saw
that ourselves when we visited the correctional centres. Ways
about making uniform, abattoir, vegetables, plumbing and all
sorts of issues. It is working and we salute that.
We also can say that the deep dedication of our personnel, the
staff that does the thankless job, in all our centres does
work because they deal with what society does not want to deal
with. They are the last end of this value chain. We also
observed Chair, that when the Department of Correctional
Services takes initiatives, either on issues of security or
infrastructure, those things work. We have seen that in Qala
Kabusha around the issue of security, the kind of pilot
project that works there and moving away from the lock and key
kind of an arrangement. We have seen that beautiful initiative
that it works.
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We would have seen it in many others where the department has
said in terms of infrastructure, this is what we want to do.
Therefore, we say we might need to replicate a lot of those
things. You have indicated on the issues of education as well
as the Chairperson on that, that this formal education is one
of the things that work. Therefore, we must embrace and
appreciate all of those things that work as part of the score
card
Minister, there remains many issues, many stubborn challenges
that we are going to deal with as follows: The issue of
contrabands. The issue of contrabands smuggling is in two
folds and it is done internally and externally. Externally, we
found it problematic because there are people who want to make
business of this. What they do lead vulnerable communities
that need housing and start informal settlement dwelling next
to these correctional centres in order for them to transport
these. We have been very clear on this as to the collaboration
between the Departments of the Human Settlements and the
Correctional Services, where they actively want to transport
these drugs to a point of engaging to shootings against the
security personnel.
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More worry is the internal transferring and smuggling of
contrabands and we were given examples of methods that were
used. I am going to be very granular in this. We were told in
St Albans Correctional Facility that men use their boots to
hide these contrabands. These are officials in the facility.
But, with women, it got more worrisome how vulnerable they can
be abused in all of this. So, they would either use their
braids. In more severe instances they would even go further
and put these things inside a condom and put them somewhere
inside their body to transfer, including in the breasts so
that when a man comes it must be said that he is harassing
her.
We were made to know how these are happening and it became
clear to us that the officials and the department are dealing
with this. Part of the solution to that is what is called body
scanners which we are very excited to that but the problem
with the body scanners which we were shown demonstrated that
they will only be working in July because of issues of
resources and certification. If you have those body scanners,
it does not matter who you are, everything hidden in your body
would be seen. We appreciate and salute that.
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When we come to issues of overcrowding which is a stifling
issue for us to achieve this way of rehabilitation, it became
clear to us that in many remand detainee’s inspections do we
have this Eastern Cape was raised as a province topping list.
Some of us got worried as to what is really happening that
makes Eastern Cape to be leading overcrowding compared to the
Western Cape or Gauteng for that matter. Upon fair and
scrutiny Minister, it became clear that the problems that the
department has upon overcrowding are a failure of another
sphere because in the Eastern Cape, for example in Makhanda,
in the Makana Local Municipality, the court does not work
because of water. Many cases get postponed. They increased
these remands of detainees whether these are issues of
electricity.
So, the main performance of a court is increasing the
overcrowding and it is not that Eastern Cape is leading in
murder rates, it is only for purposes of completeness. Here
are the top 30 stations of murder, out of that top 30 of
murder, Eastern Cape appears once, on number 24 and that is
East London. So, it does not correlate in that it has this
kind of overcrowding. Overcrowding has to do with poor
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performance in other integrated matters which speak to the
resolution that was said in 2017 about this integration.
This overcrowding worrying is that the face of this
overcrowding is young, black but more so it is African. This
is the overcrowding that we saw, whether it is Westville
Prison in Durban, Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison, Mdantsane
Correctional Centre, in St Albans Correctional Centre where we
went. We were also very worried but we think that we are going
to be watching the space around the failures of the parolee’s
system. When they presented to us it seemed that they did not
have an answer.
The high rate of absconding is very worrying around the
parolee. When you are not able to have your handle on those
that have absconded they are likely to be arrested the next
day because they would have re-offended. That is some worry to
us and we want to attend to that quite properly. We have
already started a process with GICS as a portfolio Committee
and we will soon have a workshop as part of attending to this
overcrowding. We will be looking at how we reduce this remand
detainees overcrowding around those sentences, bails that
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should be reduced or either do away with. Many of them are
spending a year with a bail of R500 and so on.
This oversight has reactivated us to be really firm on those
kind of issues. One of the issues that need to be attended to
around security is the perimeter fencing. This is because it
gets to be an attraction to those that are planning these
kinds of issues.
On the issue of the infrastructure, many of these centres were
built 20 or 30 years ago. The Department of Public Works has a
role to play here but the issues that we have here go beyond
the Department of Public Works. Again this speaks about the
whole of government kind of attacking this particular issue as
opposed to a one dimensional magic wand that is going to be
the Department of Public Works. I know that some of the
colleagues here, especially from the DA, when they deal with
issues of the Public Works they seem to be playing the person
and not the ball and I will not mention the name in that
regard.
Hon Janho Engelbretch, I think you need to stay steady. I see
that you are still learning the trade. What makes me happy is
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that at this stage you have not been contaminated with the
DA’s venom in terms of how you want to understand many of
these issues. Yes, EFF having travelled with us rejects the
solutions to these problems. When they say, they reject this
budget that is exactly what they mean that nothing must be
done.
Hence Minister, I thought that the conversation must not be
with all of them, these are incidentals, these are on the
stage, these are our issues, none of them have spoken to any
policy matters and none of them have put on the table
interventions of what needs to happen. We have to deal with
those issues and we are ready to deal to those. We will work
with them until we achieve what we need to achieve.
As of hon Mulder, all I can say is to invite him at least in
one committee meeting to participate so that when he comes
here he speaks with authority on some of the issues of our
correctional services that we are dealing with daily basis. I
pause there, Chairperson, thank you very much.
The MINITSTER OF JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: House
Chairperson, I also appreciate and thank all hon members for
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their input. They have raised various issues. I firstly want
to deal with the inaccuracies and then deal with the way
forward.
Firstly, the issue that the department has an underspending of
R1,1 billion by hon Engelbrecht is inaccurate and it is not
within the bounds of that underspending. The underspending is
an amount of R240 million out of R25 billion, which we are not
justifying, but we are saying when hon members give numbers,
their numbers must be accurate.
Also, there has been another inaccurate statement by hon Yako
on the issue of Mr Nxele that we are sitting with a lot of
court orders that have cleared Mr Nxele of any wrongdoing. I
want to state here that we do not have such a court order. All
the matters that relate to Mr Nxele have been won or lost on
technicalities.
The department’s position is that the matter must be dealt
with on their merits or demerits and the judgment that must
come on the matter must me on the basis of merits.
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We have nothing against Mr Nxeli. Myself in particular, have
previously recommended on the recommendations of the public
service Commission to the department to reappoint Mr Nxele and
review his dismissal. So, that is a clear indication that I
have nothing against Mr Nxele. I am saying that the matters
that are allegations on him, the outcomes of the SIU
investigations and all allegations against him must be tested
in a forum and the cases must be dealt with on merits or
demerits.
It is also very confusing that hon Yako speaks about this and
then jumps to the Bosasa matter that we are not doing anything
and cites officials that have been accused or alleged on the
Bosasa matter. And in that regard, she misses that Mr Nxele is
one of the people alleged in the report of Bosasa from the
Commission of Inquiry that the department has to respond to.
So, all these points to the confusion of hon Yako. I will deal
with how we can deal with this confusion later.
The other inaccuracy comes from hon Msimang, who also gives us
a very good report, which we agree with. The only point I want
to raise is that the remissions by the President did not only
happen when there was Covid-19. In December 2019, before there
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was Covid-19, the President did a remission to deal with the
issues of overcrowding in our correctional facility. If you
can remember, that was on the Reconciliation Bill.
I agree with most of the members when they speak about issues
of security breach, which are also a concern to all of us.
The issue of overcrowding, I must repeat again, hon Horn, is a
matter that society must grapple with. It is not only a matter
for correctional service. We need to deal with the
socioeconomic challenges in our country. We need to ensure
that we deal with crime and see that the crime levels go down,
because this will mean that we are going to have less
criminals convicted who must come in the correctional
facilities. There is no country in the world, nowhere in the
world, that builds prisons or correctional facilities at the
same pace as convictions.
I also want to deal with another inaccuracy again from hon
Yako that speaks about the issue of privatisation of prisons.
We have appeared in many instances in the committee meetings
and we have assured the committee and told the committee
ourselves, out of our own initiative, that we are not going to
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renew the contracts of the private prisons in Makhado, Kutama
Sinthumule and the one in Bloemfontein. We did it out of our
own initiative. So, this excitement that we are handling it
somewhere in the US and all that is a figment of imagination.
On the issues that relate to another inaccuracy that, hon
Horn, that the overcrowding is increasing, it is not true. I
stated here from the beginning that overcrowding has reduced
by 12,99% - almost a reduction of about 12,99%. It is not
small; it is huge. It is what we must work on to work within
this space that we currently have.
Indeed, regarding the infrastructure programmes and the
Infrastructure Bill programmes, while there are beds that are
being added, we need to do more and also working with Public
Works. And we have reported it to the committee that we are
dealing with the issue that relates to the devolution of some
of powers on what the department can do and handle and how we
will handle other matters of these ... [Inaudible.]
We also want to state that the budget must be looked at in
context. The context is that it cannot be compartmentalised.
The budget is interlinked. We also want to deal with
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rehabilitation, as hon members raises the point. We are also
looking at that, the budget and administration and
corrections. All the budgets are interlinked and it helps the
department to deal with these issues in an integrated manner
and respond to the rehabilitation. And everything is geared
towards ensuring that there is rehabilitation.
We also want to state that it is a huge achievement that we
can today estimate about R139 million savings that will come
out of this projects of self-sustainability. It is a key
achievement that we must continue to celebrate and we will
never be persuaded by anyone not to celebrate an achievement.
If this amount was stolen and going to be stolen, this was
going to be headlines all over. This is not stolen; it is
government that works, aims and estimates that this is going
to be a saving that all of us must work towards. Our estimates
are very clear that we will be able because of the self-
sustainability programme.
I want to also state that I don’t know why the EFF has replace
hon ... [Inaudible.] who was a member of this committee with
hon Yako who is adding no value to the committee. She comes
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here with no open mind. Even if we give her information, it
does not help her with anything. I really pray that one day
the hon member will come to the committee to add value. Thank
you very much.
The mini-plenary session rose at 18:14
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