The country's developmental correctional system is a cause to celebrate freedom
The National Commissioner of Correctional Services, Mr Zach Modise, says the country's correctional system has many reasons to join a national celebration of 22 years of freedom. Mr Modise said this during a media tour of Boksburg Correctional Centre production workshops on 26 April 2016, organised to showcase progress made in transforming historically repressive prisons to human rights based centers for offender rehabilitation.
The Boksburg production workshop is leading among ten offender workshops nationally with a R29 million annual turnover from top range furniture, steel works, upholstery, textile, bakery, powder coating, boiler making, agriculture and school furniture.
Mr Modise said the department had invested R4.5 million to recapitalise the Boksburg offender production workshop, which boosted the workshop's turnover by 38% within one year, from R21 million in 2014/15 to R29 million in the 2015/16 financial year.
National Commissioner Modise said: “We have produced a human rights based developmental correctional system, from the ashes of a prison system that was the bastion of apartheid oppression. From an oppressive system which essentially wear-housed and brutalised prisoners, we are building a rehabilitation centred system that is accountable for its deeds and misdeeds to a number of oversight structures”.
The Boksburg Correctional Centre also boasts of producing 627 800 loaves of bread annually at a low cost of R3.85 to supply a number of correctional centres thereby saving the fiscus R2.6 million per annum, when considering the average bulk supply benchmark price of R8.00 for a loaf of bread.
The Boksburg Correctional Centre accommodates 3415 male offenders, registering only 20,79% overcrowding, with progressively growing numbers of offender involvement in production workshops. The core has also established an offender skills development unit which has produced 25 fully qualified artisans that also graduated a day before the freedom day.
There are 130 offenders who are currently being trained on other skills development programmes, as part of a broader national shift to technical and vocational skills development in order to meet a country target of 30 000 artisans by 2030, as enunciated in the National Development Plan.
National Commissioner Modise said: “Our aim is to ensure that we do not breed a community of criminals that will re-offend, but rather a group of ex-offenders, and parolees, that are ready to contribute in building safe environments, and a strong economy, for our beloved country”.
He said the production workshop and the offender skills development unit has also adopted ten youths from the surrounding communities who will be trained to be artisans, as part of implementing Minister Michael Masutha's vision of ploughing back and prevent vulnerable youths from entering the criminal justice system.
Enquiries:
Manelisi Wolela
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