Date: 27/04/2005
Source: Ministry of Correctional Services
Title: Balfour: Address at a Freedom Day Imbizo
Address by the Minister of Correctional Services, Mr N Balfour, MP, at a Freedom Day Imbizo held at the George Correctional Centre
Programme Directors
Reverend Piek
Deputy Mayor of Eden Municipality, Mr Mvimbi
Councillors of the George and surrounding Municipalities
Acting National Commissioner Mr Watson Tshivase
Regional Commissioner Mr Bongani Gxilishe
Deputy Regional Commissioner Mr James Smalberger
Area Commissioner of George Mr Breakfast
Representatives of the local Integrated Justice System (IJS) Cluster; Political Parties, Community Organisations, NGOs, CBOs, and the Religion Sector
Heads of Correctional Centres of George, Mossel Bay, Knysna, Uniondale, Oudtshoorn, Beaufort West, Prince Albert and Ladismith
Invited Guests
Families and Friends of inmates
Inmates
Ladies and Gentlemen
Today is no ordinary day in the lives of South African citizens. Our gathering here this morning is more than just an opportunity for you, the people of the South Cape, to engage your government representatives on issues that impact on your everyday lives. It is also a celebration of the freedom that we attained 11 years ago. It was also on a Wednesday, on 27 April 1994, that millions of South Africans including many of us present here today, made a mark for the first time in our lives. That mark was one of freedom. It was a mark for democracy, finally freeing us from the shackles of colonialism, apartheid and oppression.
It was on that day that the people of the South Cape for the first time became true citizens of their own country. It was on that day that the winds of liberation blew across the South Cape and finally, the oppressed people in the South Cape could join millions of others throughout South Africa in proclaiming that freedom was at hand.
For most of us it certainly was an emotional day. Decades of struggle and sacrifice finally paid off. I still vividly recall the nervousness and excitement that raced through my body as I made a cross for the first time in my life. Excitement, because I knew that our time of liberation and freedom had come. Nervousness, because I wanted to make certain that I made the cross next to the right name of the movement who ensured our liberation.
As the saying goes, the rest is now history and here we are in the middle of the town of George celebrating that freedom. Just over 11 years ago, we would not have been able to meet here. It was very likely that if we came here before 1994, we would have been beaten up and dumped into the prison cells just over on the other side. In fact, we would not have been welcome in the town.
Today, we can say that George is being touched by the liberation that we attained in 1994. Of course, that liberation is not yet completed. Our people are still living in conditions that differ vastly from those in the centre of town. Our people still live on the fringes in places such as Conville, Lawaaikamp and Thembalethu, not fully enjoying the rights and privileges that democracy and freedom should have brought them. But we are on the road of changing that. Freedom is like a giant wave that cannot be halted. That wave will bring about the destruction of the remaining vestiges of the past, and bring to the shore a town of George that truly belongs to all its citizens.
Of course, the year 2005 is also significant in that the Freedom Charter was adopted in Kliptown 50 years ago in 1955. The year is also important for us in Correctional Services, because it is also the year that we have adopted a new enlightened policy direction in dealing with the correction of offending behaviour.
The White Paper on Corrections in South Africa makes it very clear that incarceration is not for vengeance or for punishment. Offenders are incarcerated as punishment for crimes and offences committed with the objective of bringing about a correction in their offending behaviour. While offenders are incarcerated for the wrongs that they have done, it does not mean that their right to democracy is also taken away. Like all South Africans, they are entitled to human dignity and respect. We do not despise and reject them as people. We do not make them outcasts. Yes, we reject their crimes and offences but we want to guide them and assist them in changing their lives so that they too can share in the fruits of democracy and freedom. What offenders must realise is that they can never trample on the rights and freedoms of others that we have fought so hard for. They must change their lives for the better. They must accept the hands reaching out to them to change their ways and to become productive, hard-working and honest citizens.
The Department of Correctional Services is committed to bringing about that change. We are saying to offenders that you were wrong to commit crimes but assist us in assisting you to turn your lives around.
Already, we are having some success in bringing about change in the correctional system. The Correctional Centre here was built by inmates themselves. Many of them are being skilled and should be able to return to their communities upon their release, capable of seeking gainful employment. If you walk through the centre, you will see how the inmates are renovating the building; learning and acquiring skills. Others are doing skill training in leather works, welding, metal work and a number of other areas. They are preparing themselves for the day that they are released but they cannot do this on their own.
They need the support and involvement of their families and communities. It is important that if we want to fight crime, we must reach out to offenders to ensure that they do not repeat their mistakes of the past. We have to accept responsibility for assisting in correcting their offending behaviour. We must embrace them and make them realise the error of their ways. Only in that way, will we all be able to enjoy the fruits of democracy and freedom.
In my Budget Vote speech in the National Assembly on 13 April I stated that I would be making a statement within a fortnight that would impact positively on correction. It is appropriate that I use the occasion of Freedom Day to inform the public that soon I would be announcing details of a remission of sentence for certain carefully identified categories of offenders. This, we believe, will be in line with our policy of correction and development in bringing about rehabilitation and ultimate reintegration of offenders into communities. I want to assure everyone that government remains committed to a zero-tolerance of crime. We will not grant remission to offenders who are a threat to the safety and security of the public. This special dispensation will focus on ensuring that those who benefit from it are prepared before it is implemented. But I must also issue a word of caution and warning to those who benefit from it – remission will not be unfettered. It will be linked to community corrections and supervision that will be carefully monitored. Any indication of abuse of it will result in the immediate re-incarceration of such persons. I will be making the details known in due course including the manner in which it would be implemented.
This Imbizo is also an opportunity for you to engage all levels of government on the needs, desires and challenges that you face in your communities. We want you to be telling us what needs to be done to give real meaning to freedom and democracy. We want to listen to you because this democracy belongs to you. We must protect and guard our democracy but we can only do so successfully if we all share equally in the fruits of freedom.
We have representatives of the Municipality with us. We have representatives of the Office of the Chief Magistrate, the National Prosecuting Authority, Social Development, South African Police Service, the Legal Aid Board and others who are here to listen to you and to respond to your questions and comments. Do engage them and commit them to bringing about changes in your lives that will ensure that the South Cape and George in particular, truly belong to all its citizens.
I am here this morning to listen to you on the correctional system. We acknowledge that we still face many challenges. Overcrowding is a major challenge. Corruption is still ever present. Our members still work under difficult circumstances. Their service conditions need to improve. Our members must become more involved in the communities that they serve. Inmates must be more exposed to development and skill training. Gangsterism must be eradicated. Smuggling must be halted. Collusion by members with inmates must be tackled. These are challenges that we are determined to address but we cannot do it without your support and involvement.
As the Minister, I am committed to addressing these challenges and call on all other stakeholders to join hands with us in protecting the democratic principles of our country and ensuring success in taking forward a free South Africa.
Whilst I will pursue my responsibilities as Minister here in the South Cape, George is also my parliamentary constituency. George is to become my other home while I am in Parliament. I am also deployed here as a member of the NEC of the African National Congress and give notice this morning that the communities of George have an open door to me and my office. I am here to serve you and your needs. I have already visited some families and communities and have seen the conditions under which our people live. This must change. Our people must benefit from their freedom. There cannot be one set of policies and rules for the middle of town and another set of policies and rules for the townships. I am committed to joining the people of George in ensuring that George belongs to those who live here. I will join hands with you in the townships while I invite you to join hands with me in our correctional centres throughout the South Cape including here in George.
The Area Commissioner, Mr Breakfast, is your servant here. He is committed to bringing about change. Already, he has succeeded in many areas where others are still struggling. I went to Oudtshoorn yesterday and spent three days here at this centre. His leadership is shining through and I am pleased with the work being done by our members under his leadership and guidance. I will be visiting the other centres throughout the South Cape in the months ahead and I want to urge members to continue the hard work that makes the South Cape one of the best managed areas in the Western Cape and even countrywide.
While referring to the Western Cape, I must also report that we would soon be taking leave of our Regional Commissioner, Mr Bongani Gxilishe. He is a loyal servant of the people of South Africa and has answered a call to serve us in another capacity. He will be joining the Department of Public Works and we are sad that he will no longer be in Correctional Services.
Bongani is more than just the Regional Commissioner of the Western Cape. He also acts as Regional Commissioner of the Eastern Cape and has a number of national responsibilities. He has played a major role in the development of the White Paper and has driven the introduction of the Centres of Excellence. Bongani, we wish you well in your new challenge but know that Correctional Services will always be your home and family. We release you to serve the people of our country. You have demonstrated your leadership capacity. Your commitment is well documented. Thank you for caring so much for Correctional Services. It is my hope that those who worked under your guidance would continue in your footsteps and display the same pride and humility that you showed while in office.
I now want to listen to the people of the South Cape. Engage me and others. Use this opportunity to tell government what you want done in the South Cape. We are your representatives. We want to serve you. Let us celebrate our freedom in the best way possible – by acknowledging what we have achieved thus far but also recognising that we still have some distance to go to in building a South Africa that truly belongs to all.
I thank you.
Issued by Ministry of Correctional Services
27 April 2005
Source: Department of Correctional Services (http://www.dcs.gov.za)
Source: Ministry of Correctional Services
Title: Balfour: Address at a Freedom Day Imbizo
Address by the Minister of Correctional Services, Mr N Balfour, MP, at a Freedom Day Imbizo held at the George Correctional Centre
Programme Directors
Reverend Piek
Deputy Mayor of Eden Municipality, Mr Mvimbi
Councillors of the George and surrounding Municipalities
Acting National Commissioner Mr Watson Tshivase
Regional Commissioner Mr Bongani Gxilishe
Deputy Regional Commissioner Mr James Smalberger
Area Commissioner of George Mr Breakfast
Representatives of the local Integrated Justice System (IJS) Cluster; Political Parties, Community Organisations, NGOs, CBOs, and the Religion Sector
Heads of Correctional Centres of George, Mossel Bay, Knysna, Uniondale, Oudtshoorn, Beaufort West, Prince Albert and Ladismith
Invited Guests
Families and Friends of inmates
Inmates
Ladies and Gentlemen
Today is no ordinary day in the lives of South African citizens. Our gathering here this morning is more than just an opportunity for you, the people of the South Cape, to engage your government representatives on issues that impact on your everyday lives. It is also a celebration of the freedom that we attained 11 years ago. It was also on a Wednesday, on 27 April 1994, that millions of South Africans including many of us present here today, made a mark for the first time in our lives. That mark was one of freedom. It was a mark for democracy, finally freeing us from the shackles of colonialism, apartheid and oppression.
It was on that day that the people of the South Cape for the first time became true citizens of their own country. It was on that day that the winds of liberation blew across the South Cape and finally, the oppressed people in the South Cape could join millions of others throughout South Africa in proclaiming that freedom was at hand.
For most of us it certainly was an emotional day. Decades of struggle and sacrifice finally paid off. I still vividly recall the nervousness and excitement that raced through my body as I made a cross for the first time in my life. Excitement, because I knew that our time of liberation and freedom had come. Nervousness, because I wanted to make certain that I made the cross next to the right name of the movement who ensured our liberation.
As the saying goes, the rest is now history and here we are in the middle of the town of George celebrating that freedom. Just over 11 years ago, we would not have been able to meet here. It was very likely that if we came here before 1994, we would have been beaten up and dumped into the prison cells just over on the other side. In fact, we would not have been welcome in the town.
Today, we can say that George is being touched by the liberation that we attained in 1994. Of course, that liberation is not yet completed. Our people are still living in conditions that differ vastly from those in the centre of town. Our people still live on the fringes in places such as Conville, Lawaaikamp and Thembalethu, not fully enjoying the rights and privileges that democracy and freedom should have brought them. But we are on the road of changing that. Freedom is like a giant wave that cannot be halted. That wave will bring about the destruction of the remaining vestiges of the past, and bring to the shore a town of George that truly belongs to all its citizens.
Of course, the year 2005 is also significant in that the Freedom Charter was adopted in Kliptown 50 years ago in 1955. The year is also important for us in Correctional Services, because it is also the year that we have adopted a new enlightened policy direction in dealing with the correction of offending behaviour.
The White Paper on Corrections in South Africa makes it very clear that incarceration is not for vengeance or for punishment. Offenders are incarcerated as punishment for crimes and offences committed with the objective of bringing about a correction in their offending behaviour. While offenders are incarcerated for the wrongs that they have done, it does not mean that their right to democracy is also taken away. Like all South Africans, they are entitled to human dignity and respect. We do not despise and reject them as people. We do not make them outcasts. Yes, we reject their crimes and offences but we want to guide them and assist them in changing their lives so that they too can share in the fruits of democracy and freedom. What offenders must realise is that they can never trample on the rights and freedoms of others that we have fought so hard for. They must change their lives for the better. They must accept the hands reaching out to them to change their ways and to become productive, hard-working and honest citizens.
The Department of Correctional Services is committed to bringing about that change. We are saying to offenders that you were wrong to commit crimes but assist us in assisting you to turn your lives around.
Already, we are having some success in bringing about change in the correctional system. The Correctional Centre here was built by inmates themselves. Many of them are being skilled and should be able to return to their communities upon their release, capable of seeking gainful employment. If you walk through the centre, you will see how the inmates are renovating the building; learning and acquiring skills. Others are doing skill training in leather works, welding, metal work and a number of other areas. They are preparing themselves for the day that they are released but they cannot do this on their own.
They need the support and involvement of their families and communities. It is important that if we want to fight crime, we must reach out to offenders to ensure that they do not repeat their mistakes of the past. We have to accept responsibility for assisting in correcting their offending behaviour. We must embrace them and make them realise the error of their ways. Only in that way, will we all be able to enjoy the fruits of democracy and freedom.
In my Budget Vote speech in the National Assembly on 13 April I stated that I would be making a statement within a fortnight that would impact positively on correction. It is appropriate that I use the occasion of Freedom Day to inform the public that soon I would be announcing details of a remission of sentence for certain carefully identified categories of offenders. This, we believe, will be in line with our policy of correction and development in bringing about rehabilitation and ultimate reintegration of offenders into communities. I want to assure everyone that government remains committed to a zero-tolerance of crime. We will not grant remission to offenders who are a threat to the safety and security of the public. This special dispensation will focus on ensuring that those who benefit from it are prepared before it is implemented. But I must also issue a word of caution and warning to those who benefit from it – remission will not be unfettered. It will be linked to community corrections and supervision that will be carefully monitored. Any indication of abuse of it will result in the immediate re-incarceration of such persons. I will be making the details known in due course including the manner in which it would be implemented.
This Imbizo is also an opportunity for you to engage all levels of government on the needs, desires and challenges that you face in your communities. We want you to be telling us what needs to be done to give real meaning to freedom and democracy. We want to listen to you because this democracy belongs to you. We must protect and guard our democracy but we can only do so successfully if we all share equally in the fruits of freedom.
We have representatives of the Municipality with us. We have representatives of the Office of the Chief Magistrate, the National Prosecuting Authority, Social Development, South African Police Service, the Legal Aid Board and others who are here to listen to you and to respond to your questions and comments. Do engage them and commit them to bringing about changes in your lives that will ensure that the South Cape and George in particular, truly belong to all its citizens.
I am here this morning to listen to you on the correctional system. We acknowledge that we still face many challenges. Overcrowding is a major challenge. Corruption is still ever present. Our members still work under difficult circumstances. Their service conditions need to improve. Our members must become more involved in the communities that they serve. Inmates must be more exposed to development and skill training. Gangsterism must be eradicated. Smuggling must be halted. Collusion by members with inmates must be tackled. These are challenges that we are determined to address but we cannot do it without your support and involvement.
As the Minister, I am committed to addressing these challenges and call on all other stakeholders to join hands with us in protecting the democratic principles of our country and ensuring success in taking forward a free South Africa.
Whilst I will pursue my responsibilities as Minister here in the South Cape, George is also my parliamentary constituency. George is to become my other home while I am in Parliament. I am also deployed here as a member of the NEC of the African National Congress and give notice this morning that the communities of George have an open door to me and my office. I am here to serve you and your needs. I have already visited some families and communities and have seen the conditions under which our people live. This must change. Our people must benefit from their freedom. There cannot be one set of policies and rules for the middle of town and another set of policies and rules for the townships. I am committed to joining the people of George in ensuring that George belongs to those who live here. I will join hands with you in the townships while I invite you to join hands with me in our correctional centres throughout the South Cape including here in George.
The Area Commissioner, Mr Breakfast, is your servant here. He is committed to bringing about change. Already, he has succeeded in many areas where others are still struggling. I went to Oudtshoorn yesterday and spent three days here at this centre. His leadership is shining through and I am pleased with the work being done by our members under his leadership and guidance. I will be visiting the other centres throughout the South Cape in the months ahead and I want to urge members to continue the hard work that makes the South Cape one of the best managed areas in the Western Cape and even countrywide.
While referring to the Western Cape, I must also report that we would soon be taking leave of our Regional Commissioner, Mr Bongani Gxilishe. He is a loyal servant of the people of South Africa and has answered a call to serve us in another capacity. He will be joining the Department of Public Works and we are sad that he will no longer be in Correctional Services.
Bongani is more than just the Regional Commissioner of the Western Cape. He also acts as Regional Commissioner of the Eastern Cape and has a number of national responsibilities. He has played a major role in the development of the White Paper and has driven the introduction of the Centres of Excellence. Bongani, we wish you well in your new challenge but know that Correctional Services will always be your home and family. We release you to serve the people of our country. You have demonstrated your leadership capacity. Your commitment is well documented. Thank you for caring so much for Correctional Services. It is my hope that those who worked under your guidance would continue in your footsteps and display the same pride and humility that you showed while in office.
I now want to listen to the people of the South Cape. Engage me and others. Use this opportunity to tell government what you want done in the South Cape. We are your representatives. We want to serve you. Let us celebrate our freedom in the best way possible – by acknowledging what we have achieved thus far but also recognising that we still have some distance to go to in building a South Africa that truly belongs to all.
I thank you.
Issued by Ministry of Correctional Services
27 April 2005
Source: Department of Correctional Services (http://www.dcs.gov.za)
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