Issued by: African National Congress
TRANSFORMATION FORUM ON CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
PRESS STATEMENT RE, THE DEMILITARISATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES AND OTHER TRANSFORMATION PROPOSALS
The Transformation Forum on Correctional Services today (20 February 1996) submitted to the Minister of Correctional Services, Dr S Mzimela, proposals on a Demilitarisation Policy for the Department of Correctional Services. The document is the result of participation between the members of the Transformation Forum on Correctional Services, including the Department of Correctional Services. As such the document is the product of co-operation between all the major stake holders in Corrections in South Africa.
The Transformation Forum on Correctional Services wrote the document on request from the Minister of Correctional Services and in doing so consulted widely, following the principles of Inclusi- vity and Transparency. As such the aims for demilitarisation set out in the document are well canvassed and it is the hope of the Trans- formation Forum on Correctional Services that the demilitarisation of the Department of Correctional Services will be achieved as smoothly and as quickly as possible.
The content of the Demilitarisation Policy Document will be made public in due course. It is however considered a matter of courtesy to do so only after the Minister had the opportunity to study the recommendations.
The Transformation Forum on Correctional Services has also recently presented to the Minister of Correctional Services proposals for a Change Management Team, which it is envisaged can assist the Minister in driving and expiditing the transformation process in the Department of Correctional Services. The Forum is awaiting the Minister's response to this proposal.
Within the next month a further policy document on the esta- blishment of an Independent Prisons Inspectorate will be presented to the Minister. In the light of the many problems that the Department of Correctional Services is faced with, as again recently demonstrated with the serious incidents of gang warfare, such an inspectorate is long overdue.
The Transformation Forum on Correctional Services has committed itself to work for fundamental change in Corrections. When Opening Parliament President Mandela stated that 1996 must be the year in which delivery and transformation are intensified. The Transforma- tion Forum on Correctional Services has done the necessary prepara- tory work to achieve this, and will take the lead in presenting the Minister of Correctional Services with a steady flow of proposals on how to effect fundamental changes in the Department of correctional Services. In addition the Forum will also continue to monitor whether its transformation proposals are correctly implimented.
The Transformation Forum on Correctional Services is looking forward to a good working relationship with the Minister of Correctional Services. In order to meet the transformation objectives, which are demanded by our young democracy and the human rights culture that we are building in South Africa.
29 February 1996 Issued by: Carl Niehaus Chairperson of Correctional Services
P O Box 56950 Arcadia 0007