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Date : 21/11/2003
Source: Ministry of Correctional Services
Title: Skosana: Gauteng Correctional Services gala dinner


SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, MR BEN M SKOSANA, MP, AT THE WINNERS GALA DINNER FOR THE GAUTENG REGION, PRETORIA MANAGEMENT AREA, Friday 21 November 2001

Programme Director
MEC of Safety and Liaison in Gauteng, Ms Nomvula Mokonyane
Acting Executive Major of Tshwane, Mr Ditshoke
Executive Major of Mogale City, Adv Mokgatle
Executive Major of Ekhuruleni, Mr Nkosi
Acting Executive Major of Motsweding, Mr Myamtaza
Commissioner of Correctional Services, Mr Mti
Regional Commissioner of Free State, Mr Modise
Deputy Head of Scorpions - Ms Ayanda Dlodlo
Representatives of non-governmental organisations
Representatives of labour unions
Members of the National Management Board
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

It is a great pleasure for me to be here tonight to celebrate with you when we recognise the fruits of the hard work that has been put in by the men and women of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) in Gauteng. This is why the theme of Gauteng's fourth gala evening has been appropriately chosen as "Ukhozi Olubambayo Ngoluzingelayo" or when literally translated "The crow that hunts is the one that catches".

I am pleased to note that the gala evening concept is fast becoming a tradition in most of our provinces where the purpose is to encourage and motivate our members by publicly acknowledging their achievements. Prestigious events of this nature promote excellence in DCS and inculcate a sense of pride amongst all those associated with this department.

Today is an appropriate day for us to take stock of our achievements throughout the passing year, and what better way to do it than to recognise those among us who have excelled in various fields of human endeavour, which range from the management of various management areas to excellence in sports.

We are meeting here today in the middle of a very crucial period when we are observing the sixteen days of activism and of no violence against women.

We ask all sectors of our society to join hands with government in fighting violence against women and children because government on its own cannot succeed in fighting violence against women and children.

The commitment to combat violence and related forms of abuse directed at women and children, continues to be a priority of our government - not just in this 16-day period, but on an ongoing basis and on every possible front: The provision of social assistance to women and children in need; prioritisation of housing for female headed households; the provision of specialised domestic violence legislation, roll-out of 50 sexual offences courts in the past five years and a plethora of other mechanism aimed at protecting vulnerable groups.

The 16-day period allows us - as a collective - to focus our attention intensely on the problem of gender-based and child-directed violence, take stock of our progress and re-commit ourselves to eradicating this scourge.

There needs to be a collective response and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society, business, the religious community and organised labour are all potential partners in finding a solution. The campaign also allows us to build on the increased public vigilance and general awareness that has been generated over the last few years.

Over a period of the 16 themed days and by linking gender-based violence to issues such as health, disability, poverty and vulnerability to risk we are sensitising the public to the very many faces of violence and its negative impact on the development of women and children. Our campaign will emphasise that all forms of violence, whether perpetrated in the public or private sphere, are a violation of human rights and human dignity. The campaign provides every South African with a unique opportunity for introspection. We hope that it will result in a new resolve to change attitudes and behaviours.

It is well known that the majority of cases of violence against women and children take place in the sanctity of the home and by people that are acquainted with the survivors. As a government we cannot afford to place a police officer in every home.

Therefore, the best way to police this problem is to engender in each citizen a sensitivity to that nature of the problem and a resolve to enlist, as quickly as possible, the support of the law-enforcement agencies and civil society support groups.

The South African Police Service, the Department of Social Development and DCS will re-commit to servicing the victims and survivors of violence with sensitivity and the necessary determination to punish the perpetrators of violence in the home, in communities and the workplace.

As we approach the end of the year, let us reflect on what we managed to achieve during the year and also not lose sight of the fact that we have to face challenges in future with the same vigour and zest with which we were able to realise our achievements. At the same time we have to constantly evaluate our own capabilities and capacity to meet the task.

Even in the face of serious problems, the department registered progress in its efforts to root out corruption, including the successful implementation of the recommendations of the Jali Commission and all the time we kept the public informed of this progress.

As a contribution to the poverty alleviation strategy, the DCS has refocused its approach and contribution and committed itself to being a partner in eradicating poverty through agricultural produce and other industrial products. We continued to roll out our poverty alleviation programme to other provinces and thus make an impact in the improvement of the lives of ordinary South Africans especially those living in disadvantaged communities.

This empowerment of communities by our agricultural division has also been taken to schools. Currently the Gauteng Regional Office together with the agricultural division at Baviaanspoort has engaged in a skills training project on small-scale farming and gardening. Pupils are engaged in soil preparation skills, vegetable planting and harvesting. The school identified, Leeufontein Primary School, is utilised as a pilot project whereby such expertise would be extended to other schools, especially in the rural areas.

A strategic plan for HIV/AIDS is in the process of implementation as well as a prevalence survey to determine the extent of the disease in our establishment.

We convened a meeting of Southern African Development Community (SADC) Ministers responsible for corrections and exchanged information on issues of general concern in the region. The Johannesburg Declaration was adopted to enable us to take the whole process of cooperation forward. Action is being taken to ensure follow-up action to pursue the implementation of decisions reached at this meeting.

We received a message of commendation from the Princess Royal, Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne of the United Kingdom, for our contribution to making her visit to Southern Africa successful.

We continued to promote and strengthen partnerships with the community through Imbizo whereby a platform was provided for the community to raise its concerns and also to inform them of government activities.

The department embarked on a restructuring process to reorganise its structures at all levels so that it is properly positioned for effective prisoner rehabilitation. The process was informed by the service delivery range that lies at the core of the prisoner rehabilitation process:
We realise that prisoner rehabilitation goes far beyond skills acquisition and productive work although these form an essential part of the process.

We took deliberate action to explain that we have a common understanding that:

* The creation of an enabling environment where a human rights culture is upheld, reconciliation, forgiveness and healing are facilitated, and prisoners are encouraged and assisted to discard negative values, adopt and develop positive ones, which are acceptable to society;

* The creation of opportunities, for the acquisition of knowledge and new skills, the development of an attitude of serving with excellence and the achievement of principled relations with other, to prepare the prisoner to return to society with an improved chance of leading a crime-free life as productive and law-abiding citizens

* A process that is aimed at helping the prisoner gain insight into his/her offending behaviour and also understand that the crime has caused injury to others including the primary victim/s and the broader community.

In an effort to reduce overcrowding in our prisons, the department started releasing prisoners whose parole dates were forwarded by ten months and this decision has affected more than 7 000 prisoners in prisons throughout the country.

The question of children and juveniles was addressed in a serious manner in KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and other parts of the country, so that other forms of correction are exercised other than imprisonment. Cooperation was sought with NGOs to provide services that meet the needs of children under correction.

The department must be commended for the successes it achieved during the World Police and Fire Games in Spain where our team amassed a total of 136 medals comprising 60 gold, 44 silver and 32 bronze.

Having highlighted some of the successes achieved during the passing year, we must be cognisant of the challenges that lie ahead and begin to look into strategies that can be put in place to tackle them:

* Continuing with our resolve to consolidate our rehabilitation programmes and making sure that they work in the interests of breaking the cycle of crime
* Continuing to devise strategies that will strengthen our partnerships with the community and involve them in the implementation of departmental projects
* Finding and implementing other solutions to the problem of overcrowding in our prisons
* Instil a spirit of affinity with the vision and mission of the department and alignment with the Code of Conduct
* Eliminate all forms of corruption and maladministration in the department
* Take further initiatives that have been started to promote cooperation between correctional institutions in the SADC region and expanding this cooperation to other parts of the world
* Encourage greater integration and involvement in the activities of NGOs in the implementation of our rehabilitation programmes
* Devising better means to eliminate escapes from our prisons in the interests of a safe and secure South Africa.

I am confident that the men and women who have committed themselves to the success of the programmes of this department and who constitute the majority of our members will stop at nothing to ensure that we reach our goals.

An important goal of the criminal justice system in any country is to assist offenders into once again becoming law-abiding citizens.

It is a fact that incarceration in prison in itself does not lead to the long-term behavioural change that many offenders require to be returned to their community. As a result, the role that DCS staff, plays in the rehabilitation of those under correction is always crucial to bringing about more permanent changes in behaviour, conduct and demeanour.

Today, the challenges in the criminal justice system make the field of correctional services an exciting endeavour with more opportunities to making a difference than in any other time in the history of this department and for that matter in the history of South Africa.

In conclusion I would like to convey my sincerest congratulations to those who are being honoured tonight. Your victory should encourage those who did not succeed this time to work even harder so that next time they can also be counted among the winners.

It must be recognised that you can only win if there is someone you are competing against, so that you can only become a winner because of that prison.

Your win tonight is part of the greater departmental strategy to showcase the bigger picture. Your individual success is a major contribution to the overall success of this Department.

I wish to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

God bless Correctional Services
God bless South Africa
God bless you all

I thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Correctional Services
21 November 2003

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