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Date : 06/06/2003
Source: Department of Correctional Services
Title: Mti: Free State Winners' Gala Evening


WELCOMING ADDRESS BY THE COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, MR LINDA MTI, ON THE OCCASION OF THE GALA EVENING FUNCTION FOR THE FREE STATE PROVINCE, 6 June 2003

Programme Director
Honourable Minister of Correctional Services, Mr Ben Skosana
The Premier of the Free State, Mme Winkie Direko
Acting MEC Safety and Security, Mr Malebo
Executive Mayor of Mangaung, Pappie Mokoena
Member of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, Mr Dennis Bloem
Provincial Commissioner of the Free State, Mr Damons
Members of the Free State Provincial Management Board
Sponsors and Distinguished Guests
Members of Media
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is an honour and a privilege for me to be afforded the opportunity to welcome you to such a well-organised function.

The hosting of the 2002 Gala Evening for the Free State almost never took place owing to the fact that it coincided with the unfortunate "Grootvlei Incident". To doomsayers it was improbable that we could purport to recognise, celebrate and reward excellence in the face of damning evidence of rampant corruption among our officials. We took the decision to proceed with the Gala Evening confident in the knowledge that the contents of that video represented the moral bankruptcy of a few and was in no way reflective of the collective moral disposition of all our officials.

Those who have made themselves guilty of acts of corruption are currently facing the consequences of their morally depraved actions as the bear the full brunt of the law.

Tonight, just like last year, we paid tribute to ordinary men and women who perform extraordinary work under extremely difficult circumstances.

Tonight was the first Awards ceremony when we are fast nearing the completion of the implementation of Resolution 7 of 2002 of the PSCBC.

The National Management Board of the department has been ceased with restructuring since last year and a number of management teams were set up to give continues guidance to provinces.

Colleagues will remember that Resolution 7 was adopted at a time when we were engaged in our own Re-gearing exercise which entailed the overhauling of policies, systems and procedures, disciplinary codes and orders. These projects are ongoing! Integral to the restructuring initiative is the rollout process of the Green Paper that is still in its Discussion Document stage. In this regard I would like to urge all of you to enrich the document by making contributions as it is rolled out within the Free State province during this month. The White Paper, as a policy framework, is going to be critical in giving direction to the department by ensuring that we do not steer by the stars!

On the subject of restructuring I would like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the overwhelming majority of our officials who have committed their energies to ensure that the restructuring process becomes a success that it is. The mature and consultative manner in which restructuring was received and the co-operation of Unions is appreciated.

Our commitment to the restructuring process is driven by the conviction that the combination of Gearing and Restructuring present the department with a historic opportunity to fundamentally transform itself into a democratic, efficient, caring and corruption free department. This is supposed to bring us closer to our quest of being one of the best correctional system in the world.

Our success with the restructuring process will also depend on our ability to take with us those among us who are not committed to the process. The reasons for their non-committal attitude to the process are many and varied. They include:

* General opposition to change fuelled by fear of the unknown;
* Cynicism after having witnessed too many aborted restructuring initiatives that yielded no real qualitative change; and
* Scepticism over the practicality of the combined region (Free State and Northern Cape).

These reasons point to a need to commit ourselves to improve communication and education when we undertake projects of this magnitude in future. Our current experience reveal that these reasons are based on a combination ignorance, misinformation and in other instance people playing truant.

As management of the department we will continue to extend discussions on these and other matters to lower ranking officials, offenders and ex-offenders. In closing, let me outline a few of the benefits to be derived from the restructuring process. The restructuring process, when completed, will allow us to do the following:

* To deliver a correctional system that is consistent with democratic practice;
* To place officials in positions commensurate with their competencies with the view to getting the best possible results;
* To balance the mission and objectives of the department with the aspirations of our officials. Work in this regard will include the development of a comprehensive Human Resource Development Strategy to further equip our officials with new skills-and thus developing corrections as a profession;
* Recruit the kind of personnel to assist in critical positions such as those in Internal Audit and Anti-corruption inspectors; and
* Realign our structure to bring capacity at the management area and prison level as the coalface of service delivery for the department; and
* For the Free State, the new head office for the merged province of Northern Cape and Free State. New management for the merged province will be announced in due course.

I would once again thank all who continue to commit their energies to our endeavours and also congratulate everyone who won an award tonight. To those who did not win awards tonight please take comfort in the knowledge that your contribution to changing this department is highly appreciated.

Again let me take this opportunity to thank everybody for the good work you are doing to ensure that the system works!

In conclusion I would like to thanks everybody who worked tirelessly to make this event a success that it was, and they are:

* Rev Mothibi for the scripture and devotion;
* PACOFS for catering;
* Star Sound for the background music;
* Mr Swartz, Ms Seane and Mr Dithugoue for the musical items;
* The organising committee under the leadership of Mr Massyn;
* The Grootvlei Emergency Support Team and the SAPS for the security;
* and The Programme Director, Mr Olckers

To all of you thanks for the hard work, keep it up.

Thank you.

Source: Department of Correctional Services (http://www.dcs.gov.za)
6 June 2003

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