Issued by: Ministry of Correctional Services
COMMENTS BY THE MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, DR SIPO MZIMELA ON THE REMARKS MADE BY MR MARK WILEY CONCERNING PRISON SHIPS AND OTHER MATTERS
CAPE TOWN: 15 SEPTEMBER 1997
Mr Mark Wiley from the National Party today levelled some serious criticism against me personally but also against my department in general and I cannot let his ridiculous statements go unchallenged.
He alleged that I have made many blunders and should no longer serve in Cabinet but he fails to support his statement with concrete examples although he falsely accuses me of having proposed that mineshafts should be turned into prisons.
The fact of the matter is that the DCS is prepared to consider and investigate all options and proposals because these are the principles which govern creativity and the finding of solutions. We furthermore believe to be open and transparent about everything we do, even if a proposal later proves not to be viable. This approach is obviously foreign to Mr Wiley and his nationalist Party who never came up with any good ideas and who used to do things secretly which eventually led to their downfall.
The same principle applies to the possibility of prison ships. We are at present looking into this option and obviously a lot of work, research and consultation will still have to be invested into this matter before we can make a final decision. We are at the early stages of the investigation because a project like this is time consuming and needs to be approach one step at a time. For Mr Wiley to allege that I have already taken the final decision and that we are ready to enter the Simons Town Harbour is a lie which should be rejected with contempt. He seems bent on misleading the public in order to score cheap political points. I need to mention that ships are used as prisons in the United States and United Kingdom.
I am furthermore not surprised by Mr Wiley's resistance to change because even to this day that is one of the main features of his party.
They had more than 40 years to change our country for the benefit of our people but they instead left us with a terrible legacy of poverty and evil just because they never wanted to embrace change or investigate alternatives.
I regard Mr Wiley's statement that the department is driven by unions and that the department is managed by incompetents in a very serious light. This statement and his reference to "internationally recognised professionals" who were replaced by the present management is a blatant racist lie. I have the fullest confidence in Dr Sitole and his management team and the DCS has never been better managed.
Racism has however all along also been one of the trademarks of the Nationalist Party and it should therefore be understandable if I reject all his statements about me and the staff of my department with the contempt it deserves.
Bert Slabbert (021) - 4622314