The Minister of Correctional Services Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula invites you to attend this year's Corrections Week Campaign, with activities taking place across South Africa. The Corrections Week is high on the Department of Correctional Services' calendar and aims to showcase pockets of excellence, highlights challenges and call for partnership to help close gaps and take delivery of correctional services to a higher level.
The Corrections Week seeks to promote awareness and understanding of the South African correctional system and more importantly encourage public participation and involvement in rehabilitation and social reintegration programmes.
The theme for the one week campaign is "Together doing more to break the cycle of crime", as a clarion call to work together to improve the efficacy of the correctional system and to reduce high levels of re-offending in South Africa. The department is committed to fulfilling its mandate and throughout Corrections Week, precedence, will be given to showcasing the department's Centres of Excellence, social reintegration programmes and safe and humane detention of offenders.
Join us for Corrections Week and be part of a week of change for the common good of all South African citizens.
The showcasing of the department's pockets of excellence in the correctional system is intended to solicit support from all stakeholders including civil society formations, as well as the media for a national, regional and local partnership aimed at ensuring safe detention, rehabilitation and social reintegration of offenders and thus bringing about progress at efforts to overcome the many challenges facing the delivery of correctional services in South Africa.
The celebrations will take place in correctional centres of all provinces around the country but in the main a national programme and focus of activities will be held in these areas:
19 September 2009: Exhibition at major malls: Countrywide
20 September 2009: Church Services at Correctional Centres
21 September 2009: Opening launch - Groenpunt Youth Centre of Excellence in Gauteng Region and Modimolle Youth Centre in LMN Region.
22 September 2009: Optimising offender labour nationally
23 September 2009: Outreach Programme to prevent crime
24 September 2009: Open Day for visits
25 September 2009: Profiling of restorative justice and parole system
26 September 2009: Celebration of Africa Corrections Day
27 September 2009: Interfaith Services
A comprehensive Corrections Week programme is available at: http://www.info.gov.za/events/2009/corrections_week.pdf for your perusal with contact details for more information or arranging interviews with principals.
Your presence and coverage of the occasions meant to mark the Corrections Week will be highly appreciated as a contribution in efforts to turn around the country's correctional system into one of the leading correctional system in the world.
Enquiries:
Manelisi Wolela
Tel: 012 305 8204
Cell: 083 626 0304
Sonwabo Mbananga
Cell: 082 045 3963 (for the Minister)
David Hlabane
Cell: 071 452 2942 (for the Deputy Minister)
Issued by: Department of Correctional Services
17 September 2009
