More than 8 000 people from across the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan municipal area converged at the Dan Qeqe Stadium in Zwide on Sunday, 13 April 2014 for a massive Imvuselelo Spiritual Revival prayer session which was jointly hosted by the Department of Correctional Services and SABC’s Umhlobo Wenene FM.
The Imvuselelo Spiritual Revival is a national mass mobilisation programme that is aimed at spiritual enlightenment, enrichment and upliftment of correctional officials who work under trying and challenging conditions.
In her address, Acting National Commissioner Ms Nontsikelelo Jolingana said there is no better way to promote corrections as a societal responsibility than the initiatives of this nature which turn to touch millions of people.
Ms Jolingana stated that offenders get passed on to Correctional Services where “officials have to spend every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month and every year of their sentence period with a sentenced offender, and that goes with all the risks involved”.
St Albans Correctional Centre is a testimony to this claim, that being a correctional official is a risky job. “Just last week, two officials were stabbed by offenders, that's just one incident in a series of those experienced over the past few months at this centre,” said Ms Jolingana.
“In total, these incidents can indeed hang as a dark cloud over our facilities, with a potential to demoralise and drain our officials’ energy, demotivate them and make them more vulnerable to these abuses,” she said.
“Our Minister of Correctional Services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele often emphasises that correctional officials are left with no option but to carry on with their corrective duties - when parents, priests, teachers, local leadership, neighbours, police, justice and everyone one else has failed and given up.”
Ms Jolingana stated that the nature of crime in general is becoming more and more violent, with about 70% of inmates being young people. Lifers nationally have increased from about 400 in 1995 to over 12 000 in 2014, a phenomenal increase since government took a hardline stance against serious crimes with minimum sentence legislation instituted since the advent of democracy.
Minister Ndebele declared the 2014/15 financial year as the year of a correctional officials and this was to appropriately recognise Correctional Officials as central to the delivery of the labour intensive correctional services, and as agents of rehabilitation, safe custody and social re-integration of offenders.
In celebrating the 20 years of freedom, Ms Jolingana said she felt proud that Correctional Services has a good story to tell, including:
- “Education has taken an unprecedented centre stage in rehabilitation with intakes for pre-ABET programmes doubling since Minister Ndebele announced the compulsory education policy. Full-time schools were increased from 1 in 2009 to 12 in 2014, artisan training reached 9 400 in 2012/13 financial year and growing, while all levels of education continue to grow, to build characters and a sense of self-worth among offenders.
- We have also breathed new life into government’s restorative justice and victim empowerment programme with the introduction of the Victim Offender Dialogue in November 2012 by Minister Sibusiso Ndebele. Thus far we have held 96 sessions nationally touching over 2 000 victims and communities.
- Food production has improved, almost doubling in many areas while in others the self-sufficiency production levels have been reached. Because of the potential of agriculture to contribute in ensuring national food security and in giving skills that could enable offenders to self-employ and also create jobs for others, the Minister has established a Task Team to investigate and recommend more innovative ways of stepping up agriculture production.
- We have delivered phenomenally in ensuring secure custody since the advent of democracy as escapes were reduced by 96% from 1 244 in 1995 to 58 in 2013/14 financial year. We have also improved the rate and the speed of rearrests of escapees as 41 of the escapees have been re-arrested, and 30 of them within two days, sending a clear message of zero tolerance of escapes.”
Acting National Commissioner Jolingana said: “Although these are commendable achievements, the road ahead is long and tough. Security breaches including smuggling of illegal substances, cellphones and drugs remain a serious challenge in our Correctional Facilities. We need every one of you to spare a moment each day and pray for correctional officials to be more effective in breaking the cycle of crime, and for our nation to be increasingly safer for all including women and children”.
The Dan Qeqe Stadium Imvuselelo session is the sixth gathering of congregants from across denominations to declare their support for the cause of corrections in South Africa.
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