Date: 08/05/2003
Source: Department of Correctional Services
Title: Skosana: National Prisoners' Choir Competition


SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, MR BEN M SKOSANA, MP, AT THE NATIONAL PRISONERS' CHOIR COMPETITION, Good Hope Centre, Cape Town, 8 May 2003

Programme Director
MEC Leonard Ramatlakane
Mayor of the Cape Town Unicity, Ms Nomaindia Mfeketo
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, Mr Mashimbye
Chairperson of the Select Committee, Kgosi Mokoena
Members of Parliament
Chairperson of the National Council for Correctional Services, Judge Desai Inspecting Judge Fagan
Commissioner Linda Mti
Provincial Police Commissioner Lennit Max
Members of the Western Cape Provincial Government
Representatives of Non-Governmental Organisations
Members of the Department of Correctional Services
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

Today as we stand on the eve of the celebration of ten years of our freedom, we are deeply saddened by the passing away of one of the stalwarts of the liberation of our country. Mr Walter Sisulu has been rightly described as a pivotal figure in the development of resistance to apartheid and a key influence in bringing us to where we are today.

We hope and believe that the Sisulu family will take solace in the fact that their loss and grief are shared by the whole nation and indeed the whole world, and in the fact that he was a selfless man who never sought public office after the ushering in of the new South Africa but basked in the warmth and satisfaction of having made a contribution to the liberation of all South Africans.

You will recall that Mr Sisulu spent many years in prison in South Africa for having stood up for what he believed in. During his period of incarceration there were no rehabilitation programmes such as we have in our facilities today of which music is one.

It is in this context that I am pleased to be here today to express my profound appreciation to the organisers of this event for inviting me to this occasion. Today's occasion is meant to recognise the immense talent which exists in our correctional facilities throughout the country and to showcase what we believe is the best musical talent which subsists in our prisons.

Singing in prisons can be traced back to the 1960s when the late Mr Sisulu, former President Nelson Mandela and many others were subjected to hard labour working in teams at quarries. During those days music, the lyrics of which were very carefully and appropriately chosen, served as a source of strength and inspiration and assisted offenders to momentarily forget the misery and hardships associated with imprisonment. In the 90s, way after the abolishment of hard labour, music continued to inspire offenders, assisted them to deal with imprisonment, mended broken hearts, and served as therapy and a soothing companion.

The competition was officially launched on 10 September 1997 at a function that was held in Randburg. The launch was followed by the first national competition, which took place in 1998 at the Linder Auditorium in Johannesburg. The competition became an annual event and in 1999, the second competition was staged, again in Gauteng.

Because of the huge amount of work that goes into preparing for the event, the cost involved as well as enormous security implications surrounding the event, a decision was taken in 2000 by the National Management Board to have the competition as a biennial event. To also indicate the national nature of the competition, it was deemed necessary to stage the competition in other provinces. In line with these decisions, the 2001 competition was held in the Free State and the 2003 is being held in the Western Cape.

Since its inception, the competition has grown in size. It started with only three categories namely the Male, Female and Isicathamiya. It now has five categories with the inclusion of the Mixed and Youth categories. Because of the confusion that was created by the word "Isicathamiya", this category has been renamed the "Traditional Category".

The competition has indeed created a platform for offenders to express themselves and showcase their musical talents. It is estimated that over 10 000 offenders participated in this year's competition at provincial levels. The winners of the provincial competitions in different categories represent their provinces at the national competition.

The competition has proved to be very popular not only among prisoners but also with the community. Community members assist in preparing choirs for the competition and are allowed to be conductors of choirs. The participation of the community results in the transfer of skills and empowerment of both the offenders and members of the Department. The competition has, over the years, enjoyed huge support of the community.

The Department has put rehabilitation at the centre of all it activities.

This means that more than ever before, the Department is focusing its attention on correcting the offending behaviour, equipping offenders with knowledge, skills and attributes that would enable them to successfully reintegrate into their communities as law-abiding citizens. Within this new direction and paradigms the choir competition becomes an important vehicle towards attaining the Departmental strategic objective of rehabilitation.

The success of a project or initiative of this nature can be measured against the objectives that were set at its inception. The competition has succeeded in attaining the objectives that were set. The visible teamwork and interpersonal relations that develop among offenders and officials bear testimony to the achievement of these objectives. The restoration of self-image of offenders and involvement of the community are also some of the important successes.

It is crucial that rehabilitation efforts be balanced with the safe custody of offenders. To this effect it deserves to be mentioned that since the inception of the competition, not even a single escape incident has been experienced. This can be attributed to a number of factors such the appreciation by the offenders of the privilege and opportunities to participate in choirs that are provided to them by the Department and the overwhelming commitment demonstrated by officials to ensure that no escape is allowed to take place.

In 1778, the penal reformer, John Howard, visited Rome. At San Michele, then a prison for young men, he found an inscription on the wall which when translated reads:

It is of little use to restrain the bad by Punishment, unless you render them good by Training.

After having read this inscription Howard said: This is an admirable sentence in which the grand purpose of all civil policy relative to criminals is expressed. I tend to agree with Howard.

In his State of the Nation Address, our President mentioned that we as South Africans take as our point of departure, "the premise that our success in social change and nation-building is conditional on the progress that humanity makes in building a caring world. Inversely, building a new and prosperous nation is itself our own humble contribution to the well-being of humanity as a whole.

"As a contribution to building the self-image that attaches to a proud nation, we shall continue this year with the project to build the first phase of the Freedom Park Monument, that we hope will stand out as an important tribute to the dignity of Africans and all human beings.

"The self-image that we speak of includes the values that should define us both as a nation and as its individual components. It should also find expression in the people's contract for moral regeneration, as we all strive to become a caring society of up-standing citizens".

Those incarcerated in our correctional facilities are part of the South African nation.

Imprisonment could be looked at as an extreme form of rehabilitation, the purpose being to incarcerate individuals who need a "timeout" from society -- a time to readjust their beliefs and priorities. While in prison, inmates should be given every opportunity to better themselves so they may re-enter the real world as corrected individuals with the hopes of providing some societal contribution.

It is a source of great pain and embarrassment to me to read recently in the media some of the atrocities which are being perpetrated by some prisoners on others. The acts of sodomy and rape of prisoners should be eliminated in our prisons if we are to contribute to a violence-free society that is devoid of harassment, free of drugs and discourages the molestation of one by another. Prisoners should grab every opportunity they are given on the road to rehabilitation.

A basic example of one opportunity would be providing educational reading materials to inmates.

Another example would be inmates who organise music groups, of which you will enjoy the results here today. Many would argue that giving inmates opportunities such as the ones mentioned go against the purpose of imprisonment.

As stated before, prison sentences are intended for correctional purposes. Prison no doubt feels like punishment for inmates, but this sense of punishment should not come directly from their term. It is not the primary goal. To lock prisoners up for the sole purpose of punishment is to give up on them. If anything, it only makes things worse.

If we are to progress towards a forgiving and peaceful society, we must be able to allow criminals to repent for their crimes. Hateful imprisonment only breeds a more hateful society.

The view of crime as a problem to solve, assumes criminals belong to the community, and thus the community must, as a practical and moral necessity, co-operate to solve their problems. The sheer evil and destructiveness of crime, and the ability of criminals to destroy the trust which a civilized society depends on, seems to make such a view naive at best, obscene at worst. How dare we assert a duty to the people who rape or kill children?

For many of us, the answer to that question comes from the Bible, which demands our concern for both the downtrodden and the cast out. Matthew 25:36 makes this clear, as Jesus describes the works of the saved: "Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came to me." But even for those who do not follow biblical injunctions, we still have a moral basis for believing our obligations to offenders do not vanish with an accusation or a conviction for a crime. Put simply: the guilty never suffer alone. Their connections in the community to friends and family do not vanish with their arrest and conviction; and whatever we do by way of punishment affects innocent third parties.

It is against this background that the Department views Restorative Justice in a very serious light. It is considered a new framework for the criminal justice system because it recognizes that crime is primarily an offence against human relationships and secondarily a violation of the law. The criminal justice system must focus on the injuries, needs, and responsibilities of crime victims, offenders, and communities. Some of the principles focused on are: restitution, accountability, and forgiveness.

As I indicated earlier, the Department of Correctional Services is committed to putting rehabilitation at the centre of all its activities in the quest to transforming prisons from being so-called "universities of crime" into effective rehabilitation centres that would produce individuals capable of successful re-integration into their communities as economically active and law-abiding citizens.

It has long been our view that the arts have a useful and even crucial role to play in the rehabilitation process in prison. The establishment of prison choirs goes a long way to supporting this view. Basic and key skills are of vital importance in prisons but alongside this, the arts should be considered as something that empowers and builds self-confidence in creative ways.

Music as art is the indication of the desire to create something new. The ability to create anything and the realisation of such a desire leads to a degree of high self-esteem. The added pleasure of seeing one's music appreciated by others raises one to even higher levels of elation.

This predicates a further desire to create rather than to destroy, which is the ingredient of the quality we need in a rehabilitated offender. It reveals the potential that is in our prisons to produce professionals in music and other professions.

The creativity to which I am referring has been aptly demonstrated by the fact that the theme for tonight's occasion which is "Music: our soulful companion" as well as the logo are the creative work of one of our inmates.

Music is not just a source of great satisfaction to the composer, but it adds value to the person who sings it. It should therefore become a source of great pride and encouragement for the offender to know that they add value to the lives of other people.

Because of negative school experiences, many people need to find other ways of getting into education other than through the reading, writing and mathematical route and very often, the creative channel is an excellent one to explore.

Many people with limited basic skills have joined the prison choirs, realizing that working in groups can be fun and beneficial, not just hard work and have, as a result of feeling more confident in themselves, gone on to join other education classes.

Music is a fantastic way into education as it influences everybody's life to some extent. In short periods of time, skill learning and creative activity give individuals a real sense of achievement and the performance of the work at the end of a project adds to the immense feeling of personal satisfaction. The process and performance restore responsibility, discipline and individuality that can be easily lost in the prison environment.

In many instances, groups come from very different cultural backgrounds, which give individuals the chance to understand each other's music on a very immediate level.

Artistic and personal friction can occur but the challenge is to demonstrate that creating music through communication and collaboration can bridge boundaries, encouraging and enabling people to solve problems positively in ways that are often new to them. Working using music gives people the added opportunity to deal with vital aspects of social interaction and personal development. Thus the prison benefits even the individuals taking part.

The proven facts show that prison choirs have rehabilitative effects. The inmate becomes calmer, learns better, learns relationship techniques, to mention a few of these effects. The rehabilitative effects also touch the families of the inmates. It teaches them to work better with their families and they have something positive to talk about with their families. It gives the family a new outlook on their family members who are in prison.

It is thus no surprise that researchers highlight the following goals of music therapy:

* improve insight and expression of feelings dealing with problem areas;
* develop healthy self-esteem and promote a feeling of accomplishment via successful musical experiences;
* increase concentration, thought organization, and reality orientation through structured musical tasks;
* improve interpersonal skills, trust in others, and a positive attitude toward treatment through shared musical experiences;
* reduce anxiety and promote relaxation through music;
* improve impulse control through group experiences;
* increase self expression, spontaneity, and creativity.

In Correctional Services we were the first to concede and accept that we are not in a position to achieve our mission without collaborating and building partnerships with civil society. The Department needs the active support of all stakeholders in its endeavour to change the lives and behaviour of offenders for their successful re-integration into society as law-abiding citizens.

The active engagement of the community in the rehabilitation process of the prisoner as a collective responsibility strengthens our partnership in the treatment of the prisoner. I am happy to note that all adjudicators here present are representatives from civil society.

The challenge we face is to encourage changes of attitude between the community, the prisoner and the Department of Correctional Services. We need to create partnership forums in various management areas, provinces and at national level with stakeholders.

A positive attitude towards the prisoner by the community will facilitate the absorption and integration of the prisoner in the community after completion of their sentence.

The Department is required to provide various skills development programmes to equip prisoners with market-related skills and competencies needed by the production sector. Our efforts at skills development are evidenced by the products that you see as you enter this hall. The furniture that is exhibited has been made by the prisoners themselves and this is proof that upon their release they have the potential to enter the industrial sector with the requisite skills.

It is our obligation to endeavour to remove all sorts of prejudices against former prisoners. Our rehabilitation efforts will become completely useless if former prisoners continue to be discriminated against and are not accepted back to society.

These people have served their punishment and do not deserve to be punished again. For all intents and purposes they are innocent again.

In our Correctional Facilities there are also a number of private choir masters assisting the prison choirs. Our own members are also very dedicated in contributing to the rehabilitation process via the prison choirs. We sincerely appreciate your contribution in building a South Africa where people will act as responsible citizens.

You are contributing to the building of a people's contract for a safe and secure South Africa and you are assisting Correctional Services in playing its part in the Moral Regeneration Movement of our nation.

To all the participating choristers: Today you are showcasing the way prisoners are able to use musical performance as an outlet. How, through music, you are given the chance to change your ways, to rehabilitate yourselves. May you enjoy it and may the best choir win.

But remember, you are all winners today and when you are released, think back to this day and be the same star in your respective communities.

Not giving inmates things to do is dangerous. They need outlets. They need ways to occupy their time. Some of the inmates - before they got into music -were difficult people. Their participation in the prison choirs changed their attitude and will most surely assist them in their efforts to become law-abiding citizens of our country.

These are people who are behind bars for whatever reason, and they have to be given some kind of outlet to express themselves. For these inmates, music is their outlet. Today's function is not glorifying the acts these inmates did, rather, just showing that music has the power to affect our lives, even if we are people who have been convicted for murder and theft who are now in prison.

The Department of Correctional Service's commitment to rehabilitation is genuine. There's an understanding that public protection does not just mean locking people up - it means trying to ensure that they do not re-offend once they are released. It is in this light that I say: If music is food for rehabilitation, sing on.

Our members have also made us proud in their achievements in various activities such as sport thus providing role models for inmates.

Our successes in the sporting field have gone unrecorded by the media at worst or at best credit is not given to the Department. For example, no less than sixteen members have represented the country in various sports internationally, and yet they are hardly ever associated with this Department. Hendrik Mokganyetsi represented the country in athletics at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester last year, Eugene Frances at the Rugby World Cup in Australia, Anton Classen in jukskei and many others. These are people who are members of the Department and due recognition ought to be given to that fact.

In conclusion, I wish to express my sincere congratulations to all those who won in the various categories up to this stage. For those who will win 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.

My appreciation also goes to those who found the time to be with us today and also those of our staff who worked hard behind the scenes to ensure that this occasion has come to fruition. God bless Correctional Services, God bless South Africa.

I thank you.

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