Programme director
Honourable Minister, Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya
Acting Deputy Regional Commissioner, Mr Davids
Representatives of government departments
Representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
Management and officials
Our inmates
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Introduction
I am grateful to be here today to conclude the first phase of the implementation of the Imbeleko project. We feel very honoured to do this in the presence of Honourable Minister Mayende-Sibiya. The honourable minister’s presence is significant not because she is a Member of Cabinet, but because her ministry symbolises change in our configuration.
Like other regions, Gauteng has peculiar challenges and specific needs. We are here to support our officials who are responsible for sustaining the initiative in the two female centres in the region, Pretoria and Johannesburg Correctional Centres.
We must thank most warmly, the acting Regional Commissioner for Gauteng, Mr Tebogo Motseki, regional management and our dedicated correctional officials who have made this occasion possible. We are grateful to all our stakeholders, without whose support, Imbeleko would not have taken root.
Unpacking Imbeleko
The word Imbeleko has important cultural connotations within African societies. Literally, it refers to a blanket made of animal skin used by mothers to cushion babies. In a deeper sense, it symbolises protection, love and the natural bond between the mother and the baby. The initiative is two pronged.
The first pillar focuses on the creation of a humane, secure and friendly environment for the mother and child interaction, within our correctional facilities. In the centres we have visited, this has been achieved through the conversion of existing cells into suitable Mother and Child units.
Our aim is to make these units more stimulating for children and more comfortable for incarcerated mothers who must focus on the developmental needs of children while serving their sentences.
The second pillar looks at finding suitable placement for children within our communities, of course, with the consent of mothers and taking into cognisance the best interest of the child. This will be done bearing in mind the protection of children from any form of abuse wherever they will be placed. We believe strongly that placement of children outside our centres should never render them vulnerable in any way.
The national picture
At the 2009/10 budget vote debate, we made a solemn commitment to pay special attention to vulnerable groups in our care, including women, children, the youth, the elderly and people with disabilities. The increasing number of women in our correctional centres is cause for concern. There are, currently, 3 651 women, in our facilities.
Research has shown that the proportion of women in incarceration in any correctional system in the world varies between two and eight percent. The main challenge is that our correctional centres were designed for men, and as such, not appropriate for women’s needs.
Nationally, the highest offences committed by incarcerated mothers are economic crimes, like fraud and theft. We have concluded that this fact, together with the educational and personal circumstances of the women involved, somehow pointed to the link between crimes committed and the socio-economic situation of offenders in this case of women offenders.
Exceptions to this rule are found in places like the Free State where the highest offences are crimes of a serious nature like murder.
In tackling the challenge of female offenders, we have been guided by our Constitution (2006), and, the commitments we, as a country, have made (internationally).
Legal and policy framework
Our Constitution (1996) imposes a duty on us to defend the rights of women and children. It demands that every child be accorded the right to “family care or parental care, or to appropriate alternative care when removed from the family environment” and that every child has the right to “basic nutrition, shelter, basic healthcare services and social services” (section 28(1)).
Our act (Correctional Services Amendment Act of 2008) has made provision for an independent inspection of our correctional facilities, by the Judicial Inspectorate, to protect human rights. This amendment act has reduced the period that babies should spend in our centres, from the previous five years, to two years. The change in legislation therefore challenges us speedily to find proper placement outside our centres, within communities.
We are bound by international agreements to do all in our power to protect human rights of women and children. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child asks for interventions appropriate to the child’s wellbeing while under institutional care.
We have followed, with interest, the review of the United Nations standard minimum rules of prisoners which got impetus from the work of Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand. She has called for the development of supplementary rules further to improve the treatment of women in detention. Her work was endorsed by participants at the recent 54th session of the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women, in which we represented South Africa, as part of a delegation led by Honourable Minister Mayende-Sibiya, of the Ministry on Women.
Regional implementation
Other regions
We have rolled out Imbeleko in other five regions, with great success. Gauteng is the last region to launch. In all these regions, our message has been very clear. It is not our duty, as National Office, to implement Imbeleko.
Ours is to provide policy guidelines so as to ensure national minimum standards. We will awaken the regions to the fact that our correctional centres do not guarantee women’s equal treatment, since these buildings were designed for men and their needs. It is our intention to go as far as releasing the spirit of innovative thinking and creativity that will make our officials conscious of the fact that a lot could be achieved through temporary redesigning of space even within the current buildings.
Imbeleko was launched in the Eastern Cape, at the East London Correctional Centre, on 26 August 2009. There, our officials have partnered with child welfare and other children’s organisations to provide special units for babies and their mothers. On that day, the premier of the Eastern Cape also pledged to support the initiative and even committed to adopt, for visits at home, a five year old child, over weekends.
Another highlight was the presence of the former Ms Port Elizabeth and her business associates, which clearly demonstrated that in partnership with business, our impact will be felt by each and every child immediately.
In the KwaZulu Natal region, we introduced Imbeleko at the Durban Westville Correctional Centre, on 18 September 2009. In that region, the initiative has enjoyed much support, including that of the provincial leadership. It has been adopted by the first lady as one of her key projects. She made a commitment that she will promote Imbeleko throughout the province. True to her promise, in December 2009, she held an Imbeleko event at our centre, in Kokstad.
In the Western Cape region, we launched Imbeleko at the Pollsmoor Correctional Centre, on 6 November 2009. We received support from NGOs, including babies behind bars, who provided gifts to the babies. The highlight for the Western Cape event was when a young couple offered to renovate and decorate the women’s section.
We launched Imbeleko in the Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga region on 27 November 2009 at the Polokwane Correctional Centre, where we received the overwhelming support of traditional leaders. Words that will remain indelible on my mind were from Khosi Netshimbupfe, who represented traditional leaders at the launching ceremony. He reminded all of us that “children are born innocent. They cannot and must not be punished for the sins of their mothers and fathers”.
We introduced Imbeleko in the Free State and Northern Cape region, on 11 December 2009 in Kroonstad. The Executive Mayor of Maqhaka municipality, Councillor Mokgosi, told us her municipality pledges its support to the Department of Correctional Services and that the municipality will always rally behind the initiatives undertaken by the department. Her pledge was echoed by other stakeholders.
Gauteng profile
Our launch in Gauteng is significant because this month, we have celebrated two very special occasions, that is, the International Women’s Day, on 8 March and Human Rights Day on 21 March. Throughout the month of March, we were reminded that the advancement of women and achievement of equality between men and women are matters of human rights and the actual conditions for social justice.
In this region, Gauteng, we currently have 1 370 women inmates out of a grand total of 46 229 inmates as of February 2010. 38 mothers are incarcerated with their babies. The total number of babies in our correctional facilities is 111. In Gauteng, the babies are between zero and 24 months old and four are above 24 months.
The ages of mothers range from 18 to 25 years, 22 of them have completed high school while 16 went only as far as primary school level. Among the 38 mothers behind bars, 11 are foreign nationals.
The fact that some of the mothers in our centres are foreign nationals poses a further challenge on our officials demanding more sensitivity to issues of culture and diverse traditions. It requires that in placing children, officials must ensure that the cultural and linguistic needs of children are considered.
Othandweni
This region has taken us one important step forward, by beginning already to identify mechanisms and facilities for alternative placing of babies within our communities, in line with the second and primary objective of Imbeleko. This morning we went to Othandweni Children’s Home. To the credit of our region, Othandweni has been identified as a suitable centre for the proper placement of babies of incarcerated mothers.
This is an important development that will assist us greatly in satisfying the requirements of the law �" that is, ensuring that every baby, beyond the age of two, is placed outside correctional facilities.
Othandweni, which means a “place of love”, is situated in Soweto, Mofolo South. It offers residential care to approximately 90 children, ranging from birth to 18 years old. These would be babies and children who’ve been abused, abandoned and or neglected.
Conclusion
Throughout our visits to various correctional centres, we have emphasised the paramount role that has to be played by everyone to help us improve living conditions of women and children, and other vulnerable groups. It is for this reason, that we have stressed the fact that corrections and rehabilitation are a societal responsibility. Without your support, our aspirations will remain a distant dream never to be attained.
We have consistently invited the assistance of traditional and spiritual leaders, NGOs, the business sector, our sister departments in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Safety and Social Services clusters. It is through such partnerships that together we can do more to promote human rights and basic needs of women and babies behind bars.
History will judge us most unkindly were we to fail to protect the needs of children in the Gauteng province with all the resources at our disposal. Accordingly, we appeal for help from all formations of civil society. In particular, we challenge the business sector to come to the rescue. Addressing the needs of children is not only a matter of corporate social responsibility. It also makes business sense. Noting that children are our future leaders, this is a core function, human capital investment.
Contrary to the pessimistic opening line of Zakes Mda’s “Ways of Dying”, together we can show the world that there are still many ways of living. Mda’s novel starts with the words: “There are many ways of dying”. The Gauteng Imbeleko is being launched during the holy week, when all Christians are reflecting on the life of Christ. Certainly, we all know that He called on the Body of Christ to service the poor and the most vulnerable. We hope many more church groups will follow the example of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), and use times like these to care for others according to the guidance of Christ.
By adopting a child, by offering your house or place of shelter to the needy, by helping us find alternative placement for babies behind bars, by giving toys and simply by showing love to women and children, treating them with absolute dignity, you can help us show the world that there are many ways of living. For us, it is simple things that matter, like the noble hand of friendship extended by Othandweni to the children of Soweto. The centre has proved that “your child is my child”.
Thank you.
Enquiries:
David Hlabane
Cell: 082 052 3499
E-mail: david.hlabane@dcs.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Correctional Services
31 March 2010
