Correctional Services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has called on Correctional Services Officers to discharge their responsibilities with honour and pride.
Addressing Department of Correctional Services Head Office staff in Tshwane earlier today (Wednesday, 11 July 2012), the Minister said that Correctional Officers work under trying conditions. “Amongst all the careers in the public service, law enforcement is amongst the least glamorous and, by far, the most dangerous. The law enforcement profession, however, must be performed with the deepest love for our country, uncompromising quest for safety and vicious detest for injustice.
“It is for this reason that, as we talk to you here today, we should thank you, on behalf of our government, our people and our country for enlisting as Correctional Officers and for the work that each one of you do everyday under the most trying conditions.
“As we continue to interact as the Correctional Services Family, it is critical that we take our positions as public servants very seriously. If the Department is going to improve on its way of doing things, it is only through the dynamic contribution of each and every one of you. It is very important that we work together as a team and yield sound and objective results that, do not only glorify our image as the Department of Correctional Services but, have a meaningful impact on the lives of our citizens.
I am confident that this team is well equipped and talented to drive the kind of public servant that is needed to take the corrections challenges to a higher level of decision-making, which is solution orientated. What we must now do, is work hard at ensuring that we make this system work for all of us. We will keep doing our best to improve the conditions of our Correctional Officers, and we ask of you to discharge your responsibilities with honour and pride. We have a long way to go, but I am confident that working together, we can do more,” said the Minister.
The Minister also called on officials to ensure that the corrections system evolves with time. “This year (2012) marks 101 years of existence of a national prison/correctional services Department in the country. From its onset, the department was an instrument of racial segregation, discrimination, poor prison conditions and many other unthinkable practices that prisoners had to endure, which amongst others included forced as well as cheap labour, dietary punishment and corporal punishment. Although much has changed since the advent of democracy, we know that there is still a lot of work to be done and, perhaps, there will always be work to do to ensure that the system evolves with time.
“Skills development and educational opportunities offer us immediate solutions to providing those serving time within our facilities, to at least attain a new set of tools for tackling life better once released through parole or completion of sentence. It is for this reason that we are embarking on a campaign calling on the private sector and other interested organisations and individuals to donate books and baby items for our prisons. We must create an environment in our prisons that will contribute towards offenders becoming better than what they were, thereby ensuring a better South Africa. We want to encourage our inmates to study, study, study. The beauty of being a human being is you can change. The emphasis of Correctional Services is correction, and all of us can be corrected,” the Minister said.
Enquiries:
Logan Maistry
Cell: 083 6444 050
