the Correctional Services Budget Vote debate 2006/07 in the National Council of
Provinces
2 June 2006
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Hon. Mninwa
Mahlangu
Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, Ms. Peggy Holander
Permanent Delegates of the NCOP
Special Delegates
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
I stand here today to reflect on the Budget Vote of the Department of
Correctional Services, being proud of the inroads we have made in transforming
this dynamic department, from the pariah it became under apartheid to the
living example it has become in correcting offending behaviour in the new
democratic dispensation.
Chairperson, today I am proud to pronounce in this House that the huge ship
that has been sailing in rocky and murky waters with no compass which
symbolised Correctional Services of yesterday, is now clearly steering towards
the right direction, turning to avoid major dangers of rocky coastlines and led
by a dynamic and committed crew on board and a confident Captain at the
helm.
I am happy to announce that the Acting Inspecting Judge of Prisons, retired
Judge Johannes Jacobs Fagan, will as from today finally enjoy his retirement
after his sterling performance that assisted us in the transformation of this
challenging department. I therefore wish to announce the appointment of Judge,
Nathan Erasmus as the new acting Judge, as of Monday, 5 June to 31 October 2006
when we hope we would have finalised the appointment of a permanent Judge for
the duration of the term.
Chairperson, once again, we wish to convey our gratitude to Judge Fagan and
assure him that his contribution to strengthening democracy in South Africa
will always remain part of our institutional memory. I would also like to
welcome the new acting Judge with the assurance that he will have all our
support as the department.
Today, I stand here with a sense of optimism for a brighter future the new
Age of Hope having made a positive impact in turning around someone elseâs
life. On Wednesday, at 21h30, I watched anxiously and inquisitively the Special
Assignment Documentary on SABC 3, which focused on the lives of female
offenders in Pollsmoor. As the documentary unfolded, there was this main
personal story of this character who was sentenced to 25 years for murder, 10
years for attempted robbery with aggravating factors and 5 years for
theft.
In total these sentences which amount to 35 years, were to be served
concurrently. Without going into the detail of how the poor woman committed
these crimes, which could be arguably related to poverty and need, it
transpired that the 49 year old Khayelitsha woman has served a total of 15
years without parole.
Having considered the profile of the offender including the rehabilitation
programmes she has been involved in and the lack of danger she poses to the
community, we were left with no other option but to intervene as her appearance
before a parole board was long overdue. The Parole Board without any hesitation
sat yesterday and henceforth took a decision to release her on parole grounds.
She is now a free woman once again.
As a result of this particular case, we have come to the conclusion that
there could be similar cases to hers, which we may need to be considered for
parole. It is against this backdrop that I have therefore issued a national
directive for the audit of various cases in correctional centres, to establish
how many cases are due for parole and how many are long overdue for parole but
have not been considered as a result of bureaucratic oversight and the backlog
in cases of this nature.
This audit which will commence in the big correctional centres that have a
high population rate will be conducted by a panel which will be appointed in
due course and this will also include members of the community. We are
confident that this process will expedite the granting of parole so that we do
not disadvantage rehabilitated offenders who qualify for parole. This would be
tantamount to denial of justice. I must caution however that this is not going
to be a free for all process that would lead to us making decisions
willyânilly.
Chairperson
The Department of Correctional Services has introduced compulsory
rehabilitation programmes for all offenders and those who refuse to engage in
these programmes will be penalised. Penalties could include removal of certain
privileges. Rehabilitation of offenders cannot become an individual choice. All
these measures will be affected in the proposed Correctional Services Amendment
Act which will be tabled in Parliament in due course.
Chairperson
In addressing parole issues, we will consider the crimes committed, the
profile of the offender in terms of his/her involvement in rehabilitation
programmes and whether or not there is a possibility of reâoffending. Of
critical importance also, would be the opinion of the public.
We have a responsibility to sustain this Age of Hope and I am glad that with
the decision we have taken in this regard, many of our people agree that indeed
Hope has dawned on us.
Chairperson
The role played by the National Council of Provinces in exercising oversight
over the executive in terms of matters affecting local and provincial
governments is of crucial importance. In this regard, issues that relate to
Correctional Services have to feature prominently in the oversight function and
business of your relevant select committees.
It is the role of these committees to ensure that they are able to audit
what we publicly pronounce as achievements or successes without any element of
suspicion or second thought. The reduction of overcrowding in correctional
centres is one of the pivotal responsibilities as reflected in the Governmentâs
Programme of Action and the Presidentâs State of the Nation Address, that we
have to collectively tackle as Correctional Services, Justice and Safety and
Security.
It is against this background that the Cabinet Lekgotla assigned
Correctional Services to lead an inter-cluster task team assigned to develop a
comprehensive strategy aimed at reducing overcrowding, for consideration by the
Cabinet during the course of this year. The strategy is expected to raise
proposals regarding the location of the function, dedication of appropriate
resources and programmes for effective management of these inmates who are in
terms of the constitution regarded as innocent until proven guilty.
The NCOPâs Select Committees whose portfolios generally relate to security and
justice and also correctional matters, need to come on board in terms of adding
value to the process of developing a comprehensive and holistic strategy for
reducing overcrowding as this is a multi departmental responsibility.
The urgency of the matter in Correctional Services has led to Commissioner
Mti issuing a directive to regional and area commissioners in all the 9
provinces of the country to identify alternative facilities for the
incarceration of awaiting trial detainees (ATD) in correctional centres so as
to reduce overcrowding in police holding cells whilst a long term approach is
worked out by the affected departments within the inter cluster task team.
In addition to these and other initiatives, I need to state boldly that the
management of the special remission of sentences has also had a positive impact
in reducing overcrowding in correctional centres. Testimony to this is the
decline in overcrowding between June and August 2005 by over 31 000 sentenced
offenders, from 187 000 to just over 156 000. This has resulted in over R70
million of savings in running costs. We therefore applaud a number of our
partners in provinces as well as ordinary South Africans who welcomed the
granting of a second chance for essentially petty offenders.
Chairperson
Our people at provincial and local government levels have become actively
involved in correctional matters. This has been demonstrated by the
representation and active participation of our people in Correctional
Supervision and Parole Boards (CSPB) across the country. Granting of parole
related to carefully considered cases has become of paramount importance. It
needs to be re â emphasised however that the granting of parole or reviewing of
parole decisions will take into account the need to reduce overcrowding in
correctional centres without losing sight of the concerns of the public,
particularly victims of crimes committed by the offenders, the nature of the
offences committed and the demonstration of rehabilitation character by the
offenders earmarked for parole.
We have also expanded and institutionalised public participation in
Correctional Services through the appointment of chairpersons of 52
Correctional Supervision and Parole Boards and began processes of further
appointing Deputy Chairpersons from communities as well. Our people at local
and provincial level are no longer spectators of the unfolding democratic
processes but have now become active participants.
Chairperson
At this juncture allow me therefore to provide a holistic picture regarding
the construction of the new correctional centres announced by the President in
2002 and 2006. The construction of the centres announced in 2002 was planned to
start last year for completion only after three years in Kimberley, Nigel,
Klerksdorp and Leeukop with bulk-earth works already done in all three sites
except Klerksdorp. However the following factors led to the undesirable
delays:
* Building industry market responses to calls for tenders proved beyond the
available budget for starting with all four centres last year; and
* Environmental Impact Assessment report on Leeukop construction is only
expected to be finalised in August 2006.
This is the situational analysis report that will inform the departmentâs
position on the commencement of construction on the Leeukop site whilst
construction with regard to other centres will proceed as planned.
Regarding the second group of four new generation correctional centres
announced this year, in Paarl, East London, Port Shepstone and Polokwane, the
briefings provided to both the Select and Portfolio Committees in the past two
months clearly indicate that the construction is expected to commence in the
financial year 2008/09 and to be completed in 2010/11. The environmental impact
assessment, the feasibility study and identification of public land for the
Limpopo centre is already underway. These will inform the decision of the
department regarding the construction process and the financing model to be
followed. Therefore there is no deviation from original plan is so far as these
projects are concerned.
Chairperson
The reasons for the delays in the construction phases as alluded to earlier
are due to a combination of factors beyond our control, which pertain to the
following:
* multiplicity of processes involved between declaration of intention to
build and the actual construction process
* co-ordination between various government departments involved, e.g.
Department of Correctional Services, Department of Public Works and National
Treasury, managing the tender process
* the unexpected realities often encountered at the sites of construction.
These complexities may further shift the timelines for the completion of
these centres with specific regard to those announced in 2002 scheduled for
completion in 2007 and 2008. But construction will continue regardless of these
challenges.
We need to explain however that at this stage we are considering following
the Project Finance Model in the construction process for the new centres
announced this year as opposed to the current Model which limits the
involvement of the Department of Correctional Services in the construction
process, thus, leaving the entire process in the hands of departments that are
not directly accountable to Department of Correctional Services.
The increase of cost of construction has had a negative effect on the
Departmentâs ability to procure and maintain projects conventionally,
especially the new 3 000 Bed Correctional Centres.
The Department has explored alternative options to the current PPP Model
which is the conventional procurement of design by appointed consultants and
separate tenders for construction and maintenance contracts.
The current Public-Private Partnership Correctional Centre Contracts has
included design, construction, maintenance and operations. The reason for the
Departmentâs investigation for alternative procurement models is aimed at
addressing issues of affordability, value for money and accountability, which
have raised major concerns in the current model.
The option the Department is therefore considering is the Project Finance
Model (PFM) which will allow the operations to be excluded from the contract so
that the Department becomes accountable for operations and management of the
centre, which will include rehabilitation and incarceration of offenders.
This Model can be managed over 15 years during which the unitary payments will
reimburse the contractor for the cost of construction, maintenance and
upgrading of technology where required, to keep pace with latest developments
in incarceration of offenders.
Chairperson
This Model will enable the Department to spread the correctional centres
more fairly around the country and limit the multiple correctional facilities
on one site, as it is the situation currently.
It will also enable us to ensure that each province is able to benefit
through the construction of these centres, so that there is no over
concentration of correctional centres in one particular area or city.
Through this diversification, we will be able to generate thousands of jobs
at provincial and local government where local communities within close
proximity to the centres that are due for construction will be employed in the
construction phase as well as in the operational phase, thus, alleviating
poverty and under development in these areas. We are determined to ensure that
we pursue this Model for the benefit of our people. We hope that the National
Council of Provinces, through its Programme of Action 2009, will monitor the
progress we make in this regard and also assist in unblocking some blockages
that may arise in the process.
Chairperson, in conclusion I would like to thank the Members of the Select
Committee on Safety and Security led by the Hon. Kgosi for their profound
support for the work that we do. We also like to thank senior management of my
department led by Commissioner Mti for their continued interaction with the
committee.
We would like to challenge the NCOP to feature Correctional Services
prominently in the oversight business of the House as it has become clear that
despite the fact that we have a national mandate but our projects and
programmes make a profound impact in changing the landscape of local and
provincial governments particularly with regard to issues of rehabilitation,
correcting offending behaviour, creating partnerships for the social re â
integration of rehabilitated offenders and our contribution to Accelerated and
Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa(AsgiSA). Of crucial importance now
will be the generation for employment opportunities at local and provincial
government levels through the construction of the new generation centres. Your
support and continued partnership in this regard is of critical importance.
I thank you
Issued by: Department of Correctional Services
2 June 2006
