National Assembly, 5 June 2001
Madame Speaker
Honourable Members
"CORRECTIONS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY FOR PRISON REFORM"
Never in the history of the Department, certainly not since I became the Minister of Correctional Services, have we as a Department been faced with such tremendous opportunities and challenges to set the Department on a radically new course. Build on what is good and jettison what is bad for our new democracy.
There has been tremendous willingness from all sectors of society to co-operate and collaborate with the Department in support of our vision of delivering an excellent Correctional Service in partnership with the community. It is our strong belief that "Correctional Service" must be a "Collective Social Responsibility".
The Department of Correctional Services is the custodian of people who offended the community and transgressed the laws of the state.
It represents a conglomeration of people with diverse backgrounds and cultures. It is a community with its own culture. Most importantly it is carrying the responsibility of correcting behaviour, which society has failed to deal with.
An obligation is therefore placed on the Department, Government and society at large to shift the focus and emphasis from incarceration to the enhancement of rehabilitation.
Madame Speaker, let me just quickly run through the budget allocated to the Department to carry out its mandate. Although the budget is not sufficient to provide for all the needs of the Department it is pleasing to see an increase of 8.8 % from the previous budget.
Programmes
2000/2001: R'000
1. Administration: 2 122 267
2. Incarceration: 2 342 745
3. Care of offenders: 554 370
4. Development of offenders: 443 224
5. Community corrections: 246 391
6. Reintegration into the community: 55 242
7. Asset procurement, maintenance and operating partnerships: 354 620
Sub-total: 6 118 859
Less: International charges: 447 247
TOTAL BUDGET ALLOCATED: 5 671 612
2001/2000: R'000
1. Administration: 2 176 401
2. Incarceration: 2 572 347
3. Care of offenders: 551 215
4. Development of offenders: 453 829
5. Community corrections: 260 826
6. Reintegration into the: 53 802
7. Asset procurement, maintenance and operating partnerships: 578 365
Sub-total: 6 646 785
Less: International charges: 474 539
TOTAL BUDGET ALLOCATED: 6 172 246
% Increase/ decrease
1. Administration: 2.6%
2. Incarceration: 9.8%
3. Care of offenders: -0.6%
4. Development of offenders: 2.4%
5. Community corrections: 5.9%
6. Reintegration into the: -2.6%
7. Asset procurement, maintenance and operating partnerships: 63.1%
Sub-total: 8.6%
Less: International charges: 6.1%
TOTAL BUDGET ALLOCATED: 8.8%
This budget allocation is intended to fund the operation of 238 prisons country-wide which are made up as follows:
All these prisons accommodate 170 959 prisoners of which 56 422 are unsentenced and 114 537 sentenced.
At this juncture I wish to take the opportunity to indicate some of the programmes that the Department will embark upon in the current MTEF period. I will also later indicate to the House the successes that have been achieved by the Department in the previous financial year. However a full account of the achievements would be provided in an Annual Report that would be issued later during this year.
ENHANCEMENT OF REHABILITATION
In terms of the priority programmes presented by the Crime Prevention and Justice Cluster to the Cabinet Lekgotla held on 22 and 23 January 2001, the Department of Correctional Services committed itself to step up its campaign to put rehabilitation at the centre of all its activities, by identifying the enhancement of rehabilitation programmes as a key departmental objective for this current financial year and the forthcoming Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period.
This is a result of a re-examination of the Department's strategic role in the fight against crime within the broader context of the criminal justice system.
The critical role played by the Department of Correctional Services in crime prevention is the reduction of recidivism through the provisioning of effective rehabilitation services to offenders.
Despite the human rights culture brought about by the new democratic dispensation in our country, the immediate post 1994 transformation of the Department focused its attention mainly on safe custody. However, the more recent Integrated Justice System approach towards crime prevention persuaded the Department to re-examine its core objectives and re-prioritise its resources.
The focus is now on transforming our prisons from being so called "universities of crime" or "criminal headquarters" into effective rehabilitation centres that produce skilled and reformed individuals who are capable of successful re-integration into their communities as law-abiding citizens.
The Department has therefore identified the enhancement of rehabilitation programmes as a key fundamental starting point in contributing towards a crime free society. The development phase of the enhancement process will take place during this current financial year and the implementation phase will take place in the course of the forthcoming MTEF period.
Madame Speaker, honourable members, this enhancement process will be realised through the implementation of inter alia the following strategies within the allocated budget of R453,22 million:
These strategies will be translated into the following themes: education, training, reskilling, personal development, spiritual enlightenment and preparation for release.
PRISONER ACCOMMODATION
The recently held departmental strategic planning session for the forthcoming MTEF period, managed to identify a number of opportunities which will help to provide solutions to a number of problem areas. The main challenge facing the Department of Correctional Services is the development of sustainable strategies to cope with an ever-increasing prison population, which puts tremendous pressure on our limited financial resources.
Madame Speaker, one thing I have since learned in the more than two years I have served as Minister of Correctional Services is that there are no quick fixes to the problem of overcrowding.
Despite the interventions during September/October 2000 (Bail releases and the advancement of approved parole dates), which led to a reduction in the prison population from 172 271 during April 2000 to 160 807 by the end of October 2000, the prison population stood at 170 959 on 31 March 2001. It is obvious, however important, these interventions did not have a long-term effect on the prison population.
The strategic planning session has therefore served to strengthen our resolve to continue in search of durable, sustainable and long-term solutions to the problem of overcrowding. The Department will continue to pursue prison population reduction strategies to combat overcrowding with our partners in the Integrated Justice System.
In this regard and flowing from the strategic planning session, we have unequivocally made the necessary link between the effective utilisation of the community corrections system and the implementation of viable reduction strategies. We have therefore identified the enhancement of the community corrections system as a key departmental objective to address overcrowding by diverting low risk awaiting trial prisoners to community corrections and employing the following strategies to improve the quality and effectiveness of the system:
Furthermore, the Department is engaged in the following projects to alleviate overcrowding:
The APOPS prison in Bloemfontein, Mangaung Maximum Prison, with an accommodation capacity for 2 928 beds is also in an advanced stage of completion and is due for occupation on 1 July 2001, which is three months ahead of schedule.
A Black Empowerment Consortium called "Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts" undertook this project. The contractual obligations for the employment of Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDIs) have been greatly exceeded during the construction phase.
Up to 1500 people have been trained and deployed during construction and some 60% of the managers and supervisors are PDIs; around 90% of the front-line staff are PDIs.
The construction of Kutama-Senthumule Maximum Prison, the APOPS prison in Louis Trichardt, with an accommodation capacity of 3 024 beds is going according to schedule and its occupation is expected in February 2002. Another Black Empowerment Consortium called "South African Custodial Services" undertakes this project.
At this stage 33 prisons have been identified for repair and maintenance work and an amount of R 214,55 million will be spent this year and these prisons have been divided into 3 priority groups, each in various stages of progress.
IMPLEMENTATION OF UNIT MANAGEMENT
The strategic planning session identified unit management as the missing ingredient in the transformation of our prison system.
Thus we have set ourselves a target to implement Unit Management in 80% of our prisons by the end of the forthcoming MTEF period (31 March 2005).
Unit management is an approach that makes provision for:
In a recently televised BBC documentary on gangs in Pollsmoor Prison entitled "Cage of Dreams", a gang member boasted that it is not the warders who control the prison but the "numbers" gangs. A correctional official who expressed his fear of being stabbed by gang members stating that nearly half of his colleagues at the maximum-security section had been stabbed at least once confirmed this. Another official stated that correctional officials were natural targets of gangs and that they are underpaid and outnumbered 100 to 1 by the numbers gangs.
It is useful to note that over a 40-year history since its inception internationally, unit management has demonstrated its effectiveness as a strategy to reduce prison violence and control gang activity while contributing to achieving prisoner rehabilitation.
The implementation of unit management will result in improved service delivery and will lay a solid foundation for the enhancement of rehabilitation.
The lessons we have learned in our implementation of this concept have taught us that future prison facilities must be designed and prototyped in such a way that they are capable of meeting the Department's needs over their projected life spans.
This reminds me of Sir Winston Churchill who once said that we design our buildings to meet our "needs" and then find that the buildings we have designed define our "needs". New facilities must be designed completely along unit management lines.
At the same time we fully recognise the high cost we have been paying for our recent prison projects. In response to this concern, we have undertaken a major effort in conjunction with the National Treasury, and aided by a US Government grant, to develop low cost solutions to prison facility construction.
The vision of the Department as outlined above necessitates the development of an effective human resource strategy that will address at least the following aspects:
Madame Speaker, honourable members, let me take this opportunity to report to this House the highlights and major activities of my Department in this past financial year:
REHABILITATION INITIATIVES
Rehabilitation workshops
A series of workshops involving community organisations and rehabilitated former offenders were held between September 2000 and March 2001 to develop a common understanding of the concept of rehabilitation and to define the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders.
The workshops assisted in identifying policy gaps and also initiated the development and intervention model for assessing rehabilitation needs.
Amakhaya farm project
On 31 March 2001 the Department launched a historic partnership in Mpumalanga Province where Inkosi Mthethwa donated a piece of land for crop production by the Department and the community of Piet Retief.
This project called "Amakhaya Farm Project" is intended to facilitate the re-integration of prisoners into the community.
St Albans Production Workshop
As part of an initiative to increase the Department's capacity to enrol more prisoners into its rehabilitation programmes, we have opened a new production workshop at St Albans Prison, situated in Port Elizabeth.
St Albans Production Workshop will be utilised to manufacture woodworks, steelworks and textile. A feasibility study is also currently underway to evaluate the possibility of erecting a shoe production factory on site.
The prisoners earmarked for training in St Albans Production Workshop will be taken from all the provinces to ensure that the new training facilities benefit the entire country.
Madame Speaker, honourable members, just to indicate some statistics of the income generated by the Department I wish to state that out of the total revenue of R72,4 million during 2000 financial year, R2 million was generated from the sale of products manufactured by prisoners. All this money goes into the State Revenue Fund.
President's Award Youth Development Programme
The patrons of the President's Award Programme, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh and former President Mr Nelson Mandela awarded the President's Gold Award to 47 young offenders who excelled in the Youth Development Programme.
NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
The Department hosted a National Symposium on Correctional Services on 1 and 2 August 2000, attended by approximately 160 participants representing approximately 70 stakeholder organisations, which recognised the need to promote a collective social responsibility for the rehabilitation and re-integration of offenders into the community and recommended the establishment of a "Partnership Forum for Correctional Services".
HOWARD UNIVERSITY/SOUTH AFRICA PARTNERSHIP
In July 2000 the Department co-hosted an international conference with the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Howard University of the USA on HIV/AIDS, crime, substance abuse, and violence as consequences of poverty. The conference was opened by Deputy President Jacob Zuma and was attended by policy makers, academics, professionals, researchers and scientists from South Africa and the USA.
As a result of this conference the following projects were conceived:
HIV/AIDS AND HEALTH ISSUES IN PRISONS
The Department's HIV/AIDS policy/strategy has been reviewed, amended and circulated to all relevant stakeholders. The purpose of its review was to make provision for the inclusion of the following latest HIV prevention strategies:
JUDICIAL INSPECTORATE OF PRISONS
Since the appointment of the new Inspecting Judge in April last year there has been considerable progress in giving effect to the provisions of the Correctional Services Act, 1998, relating to the establishment of an independent office to inspect and report on conditions in prisons and the treatment of prisoners.
Following a strong campaign by newly-appointed Inspecting Judge, Justice Fagan, we released 8 451 low risk awaiting-trial prisoners that were granted bail of R1000.00 or less but were unable to afford it.
We also made a significant reduction in numbers by bringing forward the release date of parolees by a maximum period of nine months achieving a total reduction of over 17 000.
This was indeed a significant achievement considering that this figure is almost twice the accommodation capacity of all the recent prison construction projects put together.
The Judicial Inspectorate has also made good progress regarding the appointment of Independent Prison Visitors in terms of section 92 of the Correctional Services Act, 1998. It is envisaged that Independent Prison Visitors will be appointed in all provinces before the end of this financial year.
CORRECTIONAL SERVICES AMENDMENT BILL, 2001
In the process of drafting subordinate legislation and implementing certain aspects of the Correctional Services Act, 1998 (the principal Act), it became apparent, based on practical considerations, that certain amendments would be necessary in order to fully implement the principal Act, as well as to be more compliant with the provisions of the Constitution. Central to the Amendment Bill is:
The NCOP Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Affairs has approved the Amendment Bill with minor amendments.
EMPLOYMENT EQUITY
We at Correctional Services continued to make strides in redressing the imbalances of the past by promoting affirmative action to create an equitable workplace, without compromising service delivery:
WHITE PAPER ON CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
Following the developments in corrections and democratic changes after the promulgation of the Correctional Services White Paper in 1994, the Minister initiated a holistic policy formulation process to review existing policies with a view to identify policy options that incorporate international best practices and provide the greatest value for public monies spent.
Both the National Council on Correctional Services and the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services support this policy formulation process.
ESCAPES
In the year 2000 the Department managed to decrease the number of prison escapes by 46%. The number of prisoners who escaped from custody in the year 2000 is 250 prisoners compared to 459 who escaped from custody in 1999.
In order to fully appreciate the extent of this improvement, it is important to make a comparison of escapes rate of the past five years as well as the increase in prison population:
Number of escapees
1996: 1 244
1997: 989
1998: 498
1999: 459
2000: 250
Average Prison Population
1996:118 731
1997: 134 202
1998: 141 442
1999: 154 576
2000: 160 063
CORRUPTION
In terms of the priority programmes presented by the Crime Prevention and Justice Cluster to the Cabinet Lekgotla, held on 22 and 23 January 2001, the Department of Correctional Services committed itself to step up the fight against crime and corruption in South African prisons.
In this regard, I have tasked the National Council on Correctional Services to conduct a thorough research based on international best practice and advise the Ministry, taking into account the unique circumstances of the South African correctional system, on the best model for an independent anti-corruption unit to investigate corruption and crime in our prisons.
CONCLUSION
Madame Speaker, honourable members, in conclusion I can without fear of contradiction assure this House that the Department of Correctional Services is ready to assume its rightful place in the criminal justice system and make a real contribution to the fight against crime in our country. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
It will do everything in its power to strengthen its partnership with all stakeholders, State Departments, Business, NGOs, Parastatals, CBOs and Employee Organisations in grappling with the challenges of change.
I wish to thank the Management and all the staff of Correctional Services for their dedication to toil daily under difficult conditions, bearing in mind that appreciation of our circumstances has become a rare commodity with the public.
My appreciation also goes to the various non-state actors who have willingly involved themselves in assisting us to fulfil our mandate and mission. It is a historic and fact of life that as long as crime is the persistent badge of human activity, prisons facilities and prisoners will remain an eternal reality. It is therefore this kind of co-operation with Sectors of our society that will enable us to carry this burden with reasonable ease.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the National Council for Correctional Services for the work they have done under the leadership of, The Honourable Judge Kumleben, whom I wish to thank in absentia for his role in setting up the Council and to congratulate him for a job well done.
In January this year I appointed the Honourable Judge Desai as the Chairperson of the Council and he should also be commended for the striking features in leadership he has shown so far and I also wish him well in this new challenge.
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services for their support and to congratulate the new chairperson, Honourable member Ben Fihla for his recent appointment.
Madame Speaker, honourable members, let me take this opportunity to present a carving of the Coat of Arms as a donation to the Speaker manufactured by prisoners as part of our rehabilitation programmes.
I THANK YOU.
Issued by Ministry of Correctional Services
5 June 2001