Ms Loretta Jacobus MP, Cape Town
18 May 2007
Madam Speaker
Deputy Speaker
Members of the Cabinet
Cabinet colleagues
Inspecting Judge of Prisons Judge Erasmus
Chairperson of the National Council on Correctional Services (NCCS) Judge
Desai
Chairpersons and members of the Portfolio and Select Committees
Members of Parliament
Distinguished guests
The Commissioner of Correctional Services, your Executive Management Committee
and the rest of the staff
Ladies and gentlemen
We have passed the halfway mark of the third democratic government of our
young nation. When we look back we see many reasons for celebration in
Correctional Services against an environment that sometimes militates against
the attainment of our goals. I should also acknowledge that we have standing
challenges, some of which are brought about by the mere fact that we are
managing people who have wronged the society. Madam Speaker, I can confidently
proclaim that under the leadership of Minister Balfour we are on course to meet
this nation's expectations.
Minister Ngconde Balfour has articulated with absolute clarity where we are
coming from, where we stand and where we are going to as this department and
has delegated me to expatiate on a number of areas assigned to me.
Development and care
Madam Speaker, to demonstrate our commitment to this key programme we have
allocated R1,743 billion for this financial. Underpinning the whole programme
is the Offender Rehabilitation Path which we are committed to implement with
much greater vigour this year. As I believe most people are now aware, the
White Paper adopted by the Cabinet in February 2005 enjoins us to entrench a
new ethos in delivering correctional services. In keeping with that direction
we have finalised a model for giving practical meaning to the new policy
direction the Offender Rehabilitation Path (ORP). The nine phase programme
seeks to re-engineer our offender management approach to be needs based and
informed by an offender's life cycle as each stage demands different
interventions by the department and other players in government and
society.
The nine phases of the ORP include:
1. admissions to correctional facility
2. assessments which include orientation and profiling
3. allocation to an incarceration unit in line with one's risk profile and
classification
4. interventions that are informed by a sentence plan
5. monitoring and evaluation of progress made in implementing the sentence
plan
6. placement phase that includes consideration of placement on parole or
correctional supervision
7. allocation to a pre-release unit for training or last interventions before
placement in communities
8. admission to a community corrections office with a clear plan as well for
implementation
9. with the last phase focusing on the management of probationers, who are
directly placed under community corrections by courts.
The offender rehabilitation path does not only assist the offender to adapt
to the corrections environment, but it also brings together the agents that
will give meaning to the six service delivery areas the department has
identified in relation to offenders, namely: security, facility, correction,
development, well-being and social reintegration. Interventions in these
service delivery areas are based on thorough assessments in terms of security,
risks and needs of offenders. This is a new model we commit to implement in
phases prioritising our identified Centres of Excellence.
A Correctional Sentence Plan and its revision framework were finalised in
the last financial year in consultation with offenders to establish their
needs. The sentence plan will include the implementation of six programmes
aimed at addressing offence specific crimes resulting from aggressive
behaviour, sexual offences and substance abuse. In addition all offenders due
for release will be progressively compelled to undergo the pre-release
programme designed to prepare them for social re-integration. Every effort will
be made to ensure that qualifying sentenced offenders do have outside work
opportunities to meet a target of 6 000 opportunities outside while reaching 15
000 opportunities for work inside of Correctional Services as part of their
productive engagement.
For the rollout of care programmes aimed at personal well-being of the
offenders inclusive of healthcare, social work services, spiritual, moral and
psychological services, we are allocating an annualised increase of 8,7% over
the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period reaching R1,5 billion by
2009-2010. Part of the increase is the additional allocation of R17 million
aimed at financing improved salaries of health professionals following
extensive discussions with the Department of Public Service and Administration
as well as the Department of Health. The same allocation will be increased to
R19 million and R47 million in 2008/09 and 2009/10 financial years
respectively.
Madam Speaker and honourable members, the department has surpassed the
targets it set for the past financial year as it reached 17 818 offenders with
its 48 psychologist against the target of 15 500 offenders. The same applies to
spiritual care sessions with 164 582 sessions taken place against a target 162
500; 86 571 social work sessions took place as well as AIDS awareness sessions
with 1 159 offenders and officials trained as master trainers as apposed to the
targeted 445 for the past financial year.
We are also encouraged by productive engagement of offenders with activities
like sport, arts and cultural activities, formal education and skills training
in production workshops and farms. During the past financial year, 102 000
offenders participated in sport, arts and culture programmes. We will however
continue to strive to improve numbers of beneficiary offenders to all our
programmes.
The department has sourced the assistance of two researchers from the Human
Sciences Research Council (HRSC) to capture, analyse and tabulate health
information collected during our health needs assessment campaign in order to
provide the department with an overview of the current status of health
resources, programmes and services. This information will assist the department
on proper planning and appropriate allocation of resources in order to improve
the quality of healthcare rendered to our offender population.
The department committed itself to accelerate the facilitation of access for
offenders to antiretroviral treatment by identifying Correctional Centres that
meet the minimum criteria for accreditation as Comprehensive Prevention, Care,
Support and Treatment Centres. During the reporting period eight Correctional
Centres were accredited by the national Department of Health as Comprehensive
Prevention, Care, Support and Treatment Centres. These are Kroonstad Medium C,
Groenpunt Correctional Center, Kimberley Correctional Centre, Johannesburg
Medium C, St Albans Medium B, Qalakabusha, Pietermaritzburg and Durban
Westville. Many others are under consideration as we strengthen our partnership
with the Department of Health to wage our offensive against the pandemic.
During the period of October to December 2006, a total number of 1 600
offenders were receiving antiretroviral treatment, either at the nearest public
health institution or department's accredited sites. The HIV and Syphilis
Prevalence Survey for offenders and officials has been conducted and finalised.
The Minister of Correctional Services will pronounce the finding of the survey
in due course. For the current financial year, (2007/08) the department will
focus on the implementation of the mitigation action plan emanating from the
findings of this survey.
With regard to the HIV and AIDS prevention programme, 1 159 offenders and
officials were trained as peer educators to strengthen the prevention
initiatives. A total of 47 438 offenders were exposed to various HIV and AIDS
awareness activities.
Rehabilitation and social re-integration
One major challenge that faces us and any correctional system in the world
is to ensure that as many offenders as possible are productively engaged in
programmes aimed at not just keeping them busy, but those that will help turn
them into law abiding and socially responsible individuals. In that regard it
gives me great pleasure to report to this house that we have fulfilled an
undertaking we made last year of finalising a policy on compulsory
rehabilitation programme for all offenders. We also trust that all key players
and partners will join hands including offender families in a true spirit of
Operation Masibambisane to ensure that we succeed in these programmes. Key
programmes prepared for broader and phased roll out this year include those
designed for preparing offenders for release, assisting sexual offenders as
well as dealing with anger and conflicts.
Other programmes also to be implemented are those informed by individual
needs of offenders and the circumstances and conditions that could have
contributed in the commitment of crime. We are driven by our commitment to
ensure that social structural causes of offending behaviour are addressed for
the ideals of a better life for all to be realised in our correctional centres
as well.
Critical to acknowledge is that the programme will be implemented in tandem
with the overall institution building programme that includes employment of
people to fill critical vacancies at the coal face of service delivery
including unit management heads, case management committees, case intervention
teams and case assessment teams with the critically needed scarce skills. As
the Minister has outlined, the implementation of the Integrated Human Resources
Strategy will be pivotal for the department to be able to implement the
ORP.
Madam Speaker, let me also outline that Correctional Services is
contributing in the war declared by the President on poverty and under
development. Last year we approved our poverty alleviation policy to give
impetus to the social responsibility programmes we were already implementing.
It is with a sense of pride that I report to this House that in the 2006/07
financial year we re-affirmed many unemployed youths, women and children who
are victims and survivors. We also assisted many victims of the HIV and AIDS
pandemic, rural poor, child headed households and the elderly through many
interventions we have made. These include food donations, soup kitchens, food
production assistance with development of food gardens, life and business
skills development, furniture and clothes, blankets and birthday and Christmas
parties for terminally ill children and the elderly.
We also assisted in community infrastructure development initiatives as we
have done in the Athlone House of Strength, a one-stop centre for women and
children victims and survivors of abuse in Mbekweni Paarl, the Baptist Church
building in Gugulethu and also low cost houses in Mbekweni. We would appeal to
Members of this House in particular those of the Portfolio and Select
Committees to visit these beneficiaries to demonstrate our collective resolve
to fight poverty with all our energies.
My office can provide details of the projects assisted. We will intensify
these initiatives as we rollout our new poverty alleviation policy; because
Correctional Services can ill afford to wait passively at the end of the
criminal justice system and to cry foul when scores are sent for incarceration
for preventable crimes. We believe that the criminal justice system is a cycle
through which offenders go and we occupy a critical position of facilitating
social re-integration that requires us to strengthen our outreach to the
communities we are serving.
Together corrections, care and development programmes aimed at offenders
will be contributing in shaping and implementing and in both programmes
significant progress was made in the developing various policies and procedures
that are aligned to the White Paper on Corrections. The implementation of the
Compulsory Programmes as well as the revision of current programmes and the
possible implementation of new programmes is a phased in process which will
commence in this financial year, starting within the centres of excellence and
to be expanded to all correctional centres. Honourable members, I still want to
re-emphasise the fact that the constitutional stipulations prohibits the
admission of children into correctional facilities except as the last resort.
Chapter 2: section 28 of the Bill of Rights is clear on this constitutional
imperative.
'Every child has the right not to be detained except as the measure of last
resort and has the right to be:
1. kept separately from detained person over the age of 18 years
2. be treated in a manner and be kept in conditions that take into account the
child's age
Twice in the State of Nation Address, the President of the Country alluded
to the urgent need to reduce the number of children in custody. The Department
of Correctional Services is vigilant in monitoring and managing the reduction
in numbers of children in our facilities. To this effect the department has
developed a template providing detailed information about each and every child
within the Department of Correctional Services to stakeholders like Department
of Justice (DoJ), South African Police Service (SAPS), Department of Education
(DoE), National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Department of Social
Development (DSD) in order to fast track the removal of children to secure care
facilities and diverting them to alternative sentencing options. To date there
are 1 149 children in our facilities as compared to 1 336 at the onset of the
previous financial year (2006/07).
The Department of Correctional Services has in addition undertaken a
baseline audit on its facilities, services and programmes to address the needs
of vulnerable groups including children. Subsequently an integrated action plan
has been developed by the department to address the needs of these vulnerable
groups. The implementation of this action plan will commence in this financial
year. The concept document on moral regeneration has been developed, finalised
and approved as a working document for the Department of Correctional
Services.
The National One Million Signature Campaign was launched during the
Corrections Week in September 2006 by the Minister to pledge partnership and
active support of role players including officials and offenders. Currently the
Moral Regeneration Programme is implemented by regions in an effort to raise
awareness on moral issues. The active involvement of the Department of
Correctional Services in the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) issues has been
commended by the Deputy President. This confirms that the department is one of
those who are actively driving and participating in the MRM. In order to
provide impetus to the personal development of the offenders, the department
embarked on a process to accredit workplace's and training facilities with the
relevant sector of Education Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) in
order to ensure that accredited training courses, bearing the necessary
credits, will be provided to offenders.
I must join the Minister in registering our concern as well regarding the
emerging worrying trends of not just aggressive and violent offenders but the
increase of offenders incarcerated for sexual offences that has gone up from
4,12% over the last six years to 15,06% of the total offender population,
particularly in the Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga region where the rate is
much higher. Indeed this changing profile of our offenders does not only
indicate the safety and security challenges of the vulnerable women and
children in our communities, but also the safety of our officials which we
regard as sacrosanct. This also makes it even more urgent to strengthen our
capacity to implement compulsory intervention programmes for sexual
offenders.
I would as well want to welcome the overall pro-poor programmes of
government that are aimed at fighting poverty, crime and under-development in
our country. The interventions made that includes an improved social wage, are
not only beginning to manifest in the reduction of the poorest of the poor as
shown in recent research findings, but are beginning to be felt in our
correctional facilities with a continuous decline of offenders sentenced for
petty survival economic crimes. In 2006 numbers of offenders sentenced for
economic crimes have reached the lowest number in six years with a 34% decline
to 21% of the total offender population.
I would have failed in my duty, if I do not pronounce on this platform how
proud we are of our correctional officials who are the engine behind these
social development interventions. On behalf of the Minister, the Commissioner,
the Executive Management Committee and the rest of the personnel, I wish to
state that your endeavours did not go unnoticed. We salute and encourage you to
soldier on and make your mark in building a better life for all South
Africans.
National Council on Correctional Services (NCCS)
I wish to align myself with the Minister in terms of using this platform for
celebration commendable work done by the National Council on Correctional
Services (NCCS). Under the able leadership of Judge Siraj Desai, the NCCS has
immensely contributed in improving the confidence of our judiciary in the
community corrections function and on the use of various legal instruments
guiding the non-custodial system of sentencing.
The NCCS facilitated greater and better interactions with the Judiciary. The
Minister started meeting Judge Presidents and members of the judiciary whilst
at the same time a series of workshops were facilitated among players of the
criminal justice system in at least four provinces. A schedule is in place for
furthering these interactions in the remaining regions this year. The NCCS has
also successfully driven the setting up of the Parole Review Board that began
meeting in May 2006. It has adjudicated on a number of appeals and identified
weaknesses in the rollout of the correctional supervision and parole system.
Currently interventions are underway for addressing these weaknesses.
Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons
The Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons had undergone many changes in 2006,
most noticeably the appointment of Judge Nathan Erasmus as the acting
Inspecting Judge of Prisons following the retirement of Judge Hannes Fagan, who
I am confident will be remembered for the sterling work he performed in
addressing overcrowding in our correctional centres. I wish to again, even in
his absence, thank him for the work he has done for Correctional Services and
for the country as a whole.
Judge Nathan Erasmus has, in consultation with various role-players
including the Department of Correctional Services, in a short period of time
initiated a number of strategic changes to the work of the Judicial
Inspectorate. The changes are aimed at expanding the focus of the Inspectorate
beyond overcrowding of facilities. These strategies include a process of
organisational redesign and the strengthening of the Inspectorates' capacity at
local correctional centres level. With the appointment of 45 co-ordinators
nationally and the establishment of Visitors Committees to consider inmate
complaints and to promote community involvement, the foundation has been laid
for effective service delivery and strong independent oversight.
Madam Speaker, allow me to respectfully remind the members of the house that
the establishment of the Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons forms part of this
government's ongoing transformation process which is aimed at transforming the
old inherited prison services, to a Department of Correctional Services which
is focused on and equipped to ensure that inmates in our country are detained
under humane conditions, treated with human dignity and rehabilitated so that
they can, when released from custody, again occupy their rightful place in
society. Therefore the establishment of the Inspectorate must be viewed against
the background of the radical and far-reaching changes introduced, by this
government, to our correctional system in line with the Bill of Rights.
We support the changes within the Judicial Inspectorate because it is
aligned to the vision of this government namely the establishment of strong
independent oversight, which include the 203 members of the community who have
been appointed by Judge Erasmus as Independent Prisons Visitors. These
community members visit our correctional centres and interview thousands of
inmates on a daily basis. They report their findings directly to the Inspecting
Judge who has been given extensive powers by this Parliament to deal with such
reports.
The achievements of the Inspectorate since its inception are well
documented. They have been publicly accredited by the Chairperson of the
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee and other members of Parliament with having
placed the issue of prison overcrowding on the National Agenda.
They have over the last seven-year generated wide publicity on the poor
conditions in correctional centres which have, to a great extent, changed
public opinion about our centres. It was a common perception that our
correctional facilities are five star hotels, but now, most people know about
the harsh conditions that prevail in most correctional facilities, and the
difficult conditions under which Correctional Services must function.
The changes implemented by Judge Erasmus will greatly enhance the
Inspectorates' ability to build on these results thus ensuring effective
oversight for the community by the community. The Minister, the department and
I will continue to support the work that is being performed by Judge Erasmus
and his team.
Contributing to Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
(AsgiSA)
The department has invested interest in the success of the government macro
intervention strategy called Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South
Africa (AsgiSA). The department aligned itself with this programme and gave
clear instruction to all regions to progressively transform their procurement
programmes in order to engage more local producers and suppliers. We have
noticed positive changes in this regard and we will continue to monitor these
developments closely to ensure compliance with our directives. We are
continuing to empower local suppliers in terms of training them on
understanding tender processes of the Department of Correctional Services.
Our department is proud of its contribution in giving critical experiential
learning to 2 000 unemployed graduates over since my delivery of the 2006/07
financial year budget vote input. We have invested millions of rands on this
project and we will continue to intensify these interventions for our youths to
enjoy a better quality of life.
The infrastructure development programme of the department is making a mark
in addressing unemployment as well. For example in the construction of the
Kimberley Correctional Centre already 400 local people have been employed
whilst also contributing in downstream employments the subcontracting of seven
local contractors.
I should also remind members that the interventions I have outlined earlier
aimed at fighting poverty, have very strong elements of improving general
community infrastructure. We in the past year also have adopted a number of
orphanages, local schools and churches for purposes of testing our
rehabilitation and social reintegration programmes on the ground as part of
"operation masibambisane" where we formed partnership to assist us as the
Department of Correctional Services in our offender rehabilitation path.
Conclusion
I can say without fear of contradiction that, we are firmly on course in
building an ideal correctional system that cares for both victims and
perpetrators of crime. Let me conclude by calling upon all of us to join a
national partnership to correct, rehabilitate and reintegrate offenders for a
safer and more secure South Africa. I do believe that correctional services can
indeed be a place of new beginnings in this age of hope.
I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the newly appointed
Commissioner of Correctional Services Mr Petersen. He is inheriting a very able
team that we have the confidence in steering us in where we want to go. I am
convinced under your stewardship we will continue on the path that we have
started to tread since 2004 in building a correctional service that is inline
with our White Paper. I would also like to thank the Chief Deputy Commissioner
(CDC) for Development and Care Ms Sishuba who was very ably holding the fort
for us since the departure of our former commissioner Mr Mti.
I thank you
Issued by: Department of Correctional Services
18 May 2007
Source: Department of Correctional Services (http://www.dcs.gov.za)
