Date: 08/11/2004
Source: Ministry of Correctional Services
Title: N Balfour: Malmesbury Management Area
ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, MR BMN BALFOUR, MP, TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT OF THE MALMESBURY MANAGEMENT AREA, 8 November 2004
Programme Director
Regional Commissioner Bongani Gxilishe
Area Commissioner Sipho Manqele
Management members of Malmesbury
My visit to your management area does not come at a very pleasant time. We have just lost two colleagues during one of the most serious security breaches that we have ever experienced. Two families are this morning without a father and a husband following this incident at Pretoria Central.
I ask you to stand to observe a moment of silence in memory of Mr Sam Gomba and Mr Dan Ndinisa who lost their lives under the most tragic circumstances, together with two inmates. May God, in his infinite mercy, watch over their respective families during this time and beyond.
The death of these two colleagues is a sharp reminder that we work in an environment that can be as unpredictable as it can be dangerous. It is a reminder that nothing can be taking for granted in the work that we do and that we need to be prepared at all times for any given set of circumstances. These two officials went to work on Sunday morning with the expectation that they would return to their loved ones at the end of their shift. They were not to know when they parked their cars close to their place of work that it would be the last time that they would drive those cars. They were not to know that they would be involved in a tragic drama that would end their lives.
None of us sitting here this morning can predict what will happen in our own lives. We cannot look into the future and determine with certainty what life holds for us. One moment we can have expectations that hold promise for us and, the next, life could be snuffed out, a situation over which we might have no control.
But this does not mean that we cannot plan our lives. This does not mean that we leave life to chance. It does not mean that we cannot have structure and order in our lives. It only means that we cannot control destiny. What we can control, are the elements that contribute to our daily lives.
One of those elements has been vested in you as the leadership of this management area. You have been given the responsibility to lead, no matter which position you hold. From the area manager down to the lowest ranked officer, whether it be in a permanent or acting capacity, you have been given certain responsibilities to fulfil and those responsibilities, in one way or the other, would impact on the lives of your colleagues and the offenders that you have to care for. In other words, you do not operate in a vacuum and your actions will in one way or the other, have an influence or impact on the lives of others.
I come to you at a time when questions have been posed about the quality of leadership and management at Malmesbury. My visit here is not without good cause. My visit here is as much to acquaint myself with Malmesbury as a correctional centre as it is in response to allegations that have surfaced in the public over a period of time. I would have wanted to come here under totally different circumstances. I would have preferred to come here to praise the management and officials for the quality of leadership and service that you provide. I would have wanted to come here in recognition of the commitment that is displayed to the core business of Correctional Services. But you know that I come here while a cloud is hanging over this institution. And that cloud is not only a reflection on the region and the management area, but also on each one of you as members of the management team.
Not one of you can disassociate yourselves from the perception that is out there in the public of Malmesbury. Not one of you can say that it has nothing to do with you and that what happens at Malmesbury is the responsibility of one person or a small group of persons. You have to realize that you are jointly responsible for what happens here and no amount of arguing or reasoning will shake off the fact that the actions of one person, whether positive or negative, will impact on the lives of everyone else.
I have in my possession a report that deals with a number of issues dating back some while here at Malmesbury. It deals with a number of allegations against the centre and against various members of Malmesbury. The allegations are nothing to be proud of. In fact, it is disconcerting that we should be dealing with such matters. It is of concern to me that you are operating in an environment where there appears to be a lack of trust, a lack of honesty and integrity and a lack of accepting each other as human beings.
I am concerned that there are elements of disunity amongst you. I am concerned that there is a reluctance and even refusal to accept the professionalism of others. There appears to be some culture of disunity, of division, of not caring, a degree of lack of cooperation and even undermining of the integrity of others.
Without being judgmental, I hope that it does not border on some form of discrimination. I hope that I am not detecting divisions based on prejudice. If that is so, let me warn such persons
Source: Ministry of Correctional Services
Title: N Balfour: Malmesbury Management Area
ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, MR BMN BALFOUR, MP, TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT OF THE MALMESBURY MANAGEMENT AREA, 8 November 2004
Programme Director
Regional Commissioner Bongani Gxilishe
Area Commissioner Sipho Manqele
Management members of Malmesbury
My visit to your management area does not come at a very pleasant time. We have just lost two colleagues during one of the most serious security breaches that we have ever experienced. Two families are this morning without a father and a husband following this incident at Pretoria Central.
I ask you to stand to observe a moment of silence in memory of Mr Sam Gomba and Mr Dan Ndinisa who lost their lives under the most tragic circumstances, together with two inmates. May God, in his infinite mercy, watch over their respective families during this time and beyond.
The death of these two colleagues is a sharp reminder that we work in an environment that can be as unpredictable as it can be dangerous. It is a reminder that nothing can be taking for granted in the work that we do and that we need to be prepared at all times for any given set of circumstances. These two officials went to work on Sunday morning with the expectation that they would return to their loved ones at the end of their shift. They were not to know when they parked their cars close to their place of work that it would be the last time that they would drive those cars. They were not to know that they would be involved in a tragic drama that would end their lives.
None of us sitting here this morning can predict what will happen in our own lives. We cannot look into the future and determine with certainty what life holds for us. One moment we can have expectations that hold promise for us and, the next, life could be snuffed out, a situation over which we might have no control.
But this does not mean that we cannot plan our lives. This does not mean that we leave life to chance. It does not mean that we cannot have structure and order in our lives. It only means that we cannot control destiny. What we can control, are the elements that contribute to our daily lives.
One of those elements has been vested in you as the leadership of this management area. You have been given the responsibility to lead, no matter which position you hold. From the area manager down to the lowest ranked officer, whether it be in a permanent or acting capacity, you have been given certain responsibilities to fulfil and those responsibilities, in one way or the other, would impact on the lives of your colleagues and the offenders that you have to care for. In other words, you do not operate in a vacuum and your actions will in one way or the other, have an influence or impact on the lives of others.
I come to you at a time when questions have been posed about the quality of leadership and management at Malmesbury. My visit here is not without good cause. My visit here is as much to acquaint myself with Malmesbury as a correctional centre as it is in response to allegations that have surfaced in the public over a period of time. I would have wanted to come here under totally different circumstances. I would have preferred to come here to praise the management and officials for the quality of leadership and service that you provide. I would have wanted to come here in recognition of the commitment that is displayed to the core business of Correctional Services. But you know that I come here while a cloud is hanging over this institution. And that cloud is not only a reflection on the region and the management area, but also on each one of you as members of the management team.
Not one of you can disassociate yourselves from the perception that is out there in the public of Malmesbury. Not one of you can say that it has nothing to do with you and that what happens at Malmesbury is the responsibility of one person or a small group of persons. You have to realize that you are jointly responsible for what happens here and no amount of arguing or reasoning will shake off the fact that the actions of one person, whether positive or negative, will impact on the lives of everyone else.
I have in my possession a report that deals with a number of issues dating back some while here at Malmesbury. It deals with a number of allegations against the centre and against various members of Malmesbury. The allegations are nothing to be proud of. In fact, it is disconcerting that we should be dealing with such matters. It is of concern to me that you are operating in an environment where there appears to be a lack of trust, a lack of honesty and integrity and a lack of accepting each other as human beings.
I am concerned that there are elements of disunity amongst you. I am concerned that there is a reluctance and even refusal to accept the professionalism of others. There appears to be some culture of disunity, of division, of not caring, a degree of lack of cooperation and even undermining of the integrity of others.
Without being judgmental, I hope that it does not border on some form of discrimination. I hope that I am not detecting divisions based on prejudice. If that is so, let me warn such persons
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