Correctional Services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele says that the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) will continue to enable inmates to make a positive contribution to communities.
Yesterday, 23 April 2013 KwaZulu-Natal Premier Dr. Zweli Mkhize handed the keys to a house, revamped by offenders, to 118-year-old Themba Mkhize in Ezakheni near Ladysmith. Officials, and offenders, from DCS Glencoe Management Area renovated the house completely, including tiling, re-roofing, installing built-in cupboards, re-painting and plastering.
Last Saturday, 20 April Minister Ndebele visited Mzwilili Junior Primary School in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal, where the body of 8-year-old Nonjabaulo Sabela, who was brutally raped and killed, was found on 28 February 2013. At this school, 17 parolees and probationers, as well as four Correctional Officials, from DCS Durban Management Area, have been assisting in cutting the grass and trees, clearing the bush and cleaning the school yard.
Later this week, DCS officials in the Western Cape are scheduled to hand over a renovated house in Gugulethu.
Offenders have made similar contributions in other parts of the country. On 18 July 2012, Minister Ndebele handed over a house in Naledi, Soweto where offenders assisted with painting, tiling, gardening and food parcels. The occupant of the house, now 47 years of age, ran away from his family when he was 15 years old.
It is alleged that during this period he resided with other street kids in the vicinity of Lenasia. He returned back home in March 2012, more than 30 years later, to an empty house and was informed that all his family members since passed away. He was supported by community-based organisation New Soweto Community Projects, and his rehabilitation was monitored as he was assisted to settle in the house.
Minister Ndebele said the hearts, heads and hands of offenders must be impacted. “As DCS, we must impact the hearts, heads and hands of offenders. Inmates must leave our correctional centres with at least a certificate in one hand, and a skill in the other, thus enabling them to make a positive contribution to society.
This will also ensure that offenders give back to communities, and demonstrate remorse for the crimes they committed against communities. Key to rehabilitation is empowering offenders with skills to function effectively in society upon their release but, equally important, is to ensure that offenders are actively involved in productive activity while they serve their sentences.
“Therefore, the establishment of a trading entity is being prioritised which will impact positively on utilisation of offender labour. Through this trading entity, we may offer our customer base consisting of government, NGO’s and the private sector a wide variety of products and services, ranging from furniture, clothing, steel works, food products, agriculture and many others. In addition, we will continue to donate these products to disadvantaged communities from time to time to help alleviate poverty.
We are also currently in discussions with the Department of Basic Education to use offender labour to build schools, and also supply furniture to schools. This is in addition to what is already being produced in correctional facilities,” Minister Ndebele said.
From April 2011 to March 2012, inmates at correctional centre farms and abattoirs produced more than 6,3 million litres of milk (6,347,395 litres), 583,000 kilograms of red meat (583,723kg), 1,7 million kilograms of pork (1,740,243kg), 1,1 million kilograms of chicken (1,181,760kg), 1,5 million dozen of eggs (1,547,534 dozen), 9 million kilograms of vegetables (9,091,151kg) and 652,000 kilograms of fruit (652,131kg).
During August 2012, the Department of Correctional Services in Gauteng once again emerged a winner at the 2012 Nama Phepa Awards. The Department’s abattoir at Leeuwkop Correctional Facility in Johannesburg was declared the best in the province for three successive years in the category of Low Red Meat Abattoir, winning the gold award. The awards are aimed at ensuring that meat from Gauteng meets the highest standards of hygiene.
On 2 November 2012, the Brandvlei Youth Correctional Centre, in the Western Cape, was awarded second place at the finals of the 2012 Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) Annual Public Sector Innovation Awards. The centre’s radio project, that seeks to build life and technical skills of offenders, was a finalist in the Innovative use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) for effective service delivery category. The project, dubbed Basic Radio, competed with 11 other government departments.
During the past six years, Correctional Centre Schools have been achieving an above 90% average matric pass rate. Currently, 991 offenders are studying towards post-matric/higher education and training qualifications, 4,042 towards further education and training (FET) college programmes (including electrical engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering and marketing) and 3,853 towards skills development programmes (including basic business skills training and entrepreneurship). From this month (April 2013), it is compulsory for every inmate to complete Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) level 1 to 4.
Enquiries:
Logan Maistry
Cell: 083 644 4050
