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The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) last week cancelled the bids for Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to build four new prisons across South Africa.

This decision was taken in the face of serious overcrowding in the South African prison system and the failure by the Department thus far to build much needed new prison facilities.

I will be submitting parliamentary questions to the Minister of Correctional Services to determine:

What kind of reimbursement the private consortia will get from the Department for the resources they have lost through this cancellation;
How the Minister intends to resolve the problem of prison overcrowding and a shortage of correctional services facilities now that these contracts have been cancelled; and
Whether we can expect these much needed prisons to be built and, if they are still to be built, by when the Minister expects them to be completed.

The debacle surrounding the building of these prisons has dragged on since 2005. Work on two sites has already begun and substantial amounts of money have already been invested in the prisons’ construction.

Attempts by the Department of Correctional Services to build these facilities themselves have failed dismally, as evidenced by the Vanrhynsdorp, Brandvlei and Kimberley prisons. The Department has shown itself to be unable to deliver the correctional services facilities required on time and within budget.

Instead of an outright cancellation of the bids, the Department should have opened negotiations with the private consortia involved to discuss their concerns and find an amicable solution. The decision to cancel the bids has profound and negative implications for the reputation of the South African government in tendering business to private companies.

Government and the private sector should not be operating in silos. It is vital that government recognises the importance of the private sector in helping it to achieve its goals.

The action taken by the Minister last week alienates the private sector, damages the reputation of government and makes chances for future Public Private Partnerships more difficult across every sector.

Should government be unable to foster a productive relationship with private companies to assist in the delivery of its mandate, it is the people of South Africa who stand to lose.