Correctional Services National Commissioner Tom Moyane has praised faith based organisations (FBOs) for helping the department exceed its performance targets during the 2009/10 financial year.
Speaking at the Corrections Prayer Day ceremony held at the Losperfontein Correctional Centre in Brits today to close the Corrections Week, Commissioner Moyane said 2 100 spiritual care workers from various denominations helped in delivering over 50 000 church services in all 239 Correctional Centres in the previous financial year.
"With just 41 Chaplains we could not have achieved" these targets, Commissioner Moyane said.
He said "those incarcerated for their criminal deeds against society break bonds with families and communities and instead build unsavoury relations with the incarcerated community of inmates, who help them graduate into more hardened criminals".
He said faith based organisations need to double their efforts to rebuild these familial and community relations to enable effective rehabilitation and social reintegration of offenders.
He asked: "How can anyone hope to achieve this without a return to God, the creator of the characters and souls entrusted to us by society".
He implored faith based community to be more vigilant and continue to be the conscience of the department, government and society as many deed during the struggle against apartheid.
Addressing dignitaries, representatives of Christian, Moslem and African traditional faith groups, as well as correctional officials and inmates, Commissioner Moyane again called on churches to help solve challenges of:
- Dismal functioning of our restorative justice system that is demonstrated by among others the two percent victim participation in the administration of the parole system of South Africa.
- A need for an overarching coordinating structure for all faith based institutions responsible for delivery spiritual care services to inmates across the country, and
- Completing the alignment of respective multi-year strategic plans so that we can collectively improve the scope and impact of our interventions.
Also, addressing the gathering the Executive Mayor of Madibeng municipality Ms Sophie Fande Molokone-Machika praised the work done by the Losperfontein Correctional centre in rehabilitating offenders.
She cited the fact that: 93 of the juveniles were doing grade 12; over 100 were doing various levels of Adult Basic Education (ABET); 47 inmates were doing N3 and N4, 22 were doing certificate programmes through the University of South Africa (UNISA); 20 were doing degrees; four were completing their post graduate studies and 33 were being trained to be chaplains.
The correctional centre has established great working relations with the municipality, churches, business community and various others players that are helping in the rehabilitation of offenders.
The church service marked the end of the corrections Week campaign, designed to build public awareness of the corrections function, better understanding and higher collaboration of stakeholders to address challenges facing the corrections system of the country.
Tonight National Commissioner Tom Moyane will be on Asikhulume, SABC 1, between 18:30 and 19:30 which will focus on the parole system of South Africa.
Enquiries:
Manelisi Wolela
Cell: 083 626 0304
