Programme director, Mr Jeff Mkhize
Acting Regional Commissioner, Mr Mnikelwa Nxele
Representatives from the Office of the Premier
Representatives from the Department of Justice
Leaders of faith-based formations
Non-Governmental Organisations
Department of Correctional Services colleagues
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
It gives me great pride to stand here today to say with full confidence that this occasion testifies to the fulfilment of the noble commitments we made to the people of South Africa and the world during the Budget Vote Speech in June 2009 and when we recently launched the Imbeleko Project in the Eastern Cape, on 26 August 2009.
We have made a solemn promise to roll-out Imbeleko to all our correctional facilities where mothers are kept with their babies. We commend Mr Nxele for allowing this region to be the first in line for the rollout of the Imbeleko project, especially on the eve of Corrections Week; a time when we will be putting emphasis on the priority areas of the Department of Correctional Services, such as youth development, offender labour, promotion of visits to offenders by families, the role of the Judicial Inspectorate in the promotion of offender rights and the plight of babies within our correctional centres.
You will recall that on 6 July 2009, during my visit to this centre, I was touched by the situation of babies under the age of five years living in very difficult conditions when they have actually committed no crime. Some of the challenges raised at the time were that the affected children receive very few visits from family members; they have limited space to play and have little exposure to the external environment. This state of affairs is clearly not conducive to the development of the child.
Developmental psychologists have also confirmed that the children's physical, emotional, social and intellectual needs must all be met if they are to enjoy life, develop their full potential and grow into participating, contributing adults. We are here to rollout the system aimed at improving the lives of the children in our facilities. The Imbeleko Project is two-pronged. The first leg has to do with our task, and the mothers here should help us in this, of creating a child-friendly environment within our facilities, while the children are with them.
The second leg is to find alternate, secured protection centres for the children, outside these walls. This requires that we should find homes for the children, outside correctional centres. In this regard, our options include arranging for the children to live with caring extended family members or placing them at suitable government institutions or appropriate private homes. Of course whatever steps are taken should be in line with the protection measures entrenched in the Children Act 38 of 2005 as amended, which sets out principles for the protection of children.
The association of "Imbeleko" with birth, with strong connections between the mother and the child, a citizen and her birthplace, reminds me of the title of a novel of one of South Africa's finest writers, Mongane Wally Serote. In his novel, To Every Birth Its Blood, he acknowledges the pain the mother goes through during childbirth, and thus showing the difficulty of separating mothers from their children. Mothers here will surely understand this reality.
Obviously, this will not be an easy process. All of us, the government, the experts, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs) and civil society have a role to play to make this happen. And this is one of the best ways of promoting 'peace and comfort' that we called for in the Freedom Charter, from 1955.
We were moved by the commendable steps taken by the East London Correctional Centre, in partnership with children rights’ experts in ensuring that babies and children behind bars are accommodated within special units which have been designed within a traditional correctional centre to suit mothers and babies, hence creating a good enough environment.
We have a responsibility to ensure that the best interest of the child is at the centre of all our decisions. For instance, our Constitution (Section 28(1)) tells us that every child has a right to be kept in conditions conducive for optimal development and be treated in a manner that takes into account the child's age and basic needs.
Our decision to address the plight of babies through the launch of the Imbeleko Project is aligned to the Government Programme of Action which calls for the creation of a safe environment for all children. Also, in his State of the Nation Address, President Jacob Zuma committed the government to service delivery when he outlined a programme of action leading to the establishment of a New Ministry in the Presidency: the Ministry for Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities. This decision means that all vulnerable groups, especially children, will be treated as a priority by our government.
What also shows our seriousness about taking care of babies in our centres (with their mothers) is the fact that South Africa is a signatory to various international agreements on the protection of children. These include the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which makes provision for interventions appropriate to the child’s wellbeing while under institutional care.
The Department of Correctional Services has introduced the Correctional Services Amendment Act (Act No 25 of 2008), which has reduced the period that babies who are with their incarcerated mothers can spend in correctional facilities, from five years to two years. This is aimed at ensuring that children are reintegrated into society at a tender age better to be socialised in a proper and natural environment. This initiative is in line with the White Paper on Corrections and our strategic direction to reach out to the vulnerable groups.
On our part, to guarantee the success of the Imbeleko Project, we have, among other things, initiated an audit of female centres and of mother-and-child units; the results of which will assist the Department to identify what needs to be done to harmonise our facilities. We have also started training Early Childhood Development (ECD) practitioners in partnership with the Department of Education.
These steps have to be taken particularly given current statistics, as of September 2009, indicating that there are 168 babies within correctional facilities nationally distributed per region, as follows:
Gauteng: 87
Limpopo: 20
KwaZulu-Natal: 23
Free State/Northern Cape: 12
Western Cape: 19
Eastern Cape: 9
A message that has to be taken home from today, by all stakeholders and the broader South African public, is that we have to work together earnestly to address the situation of all babies currently in our facilities.
It will amount to wishful thinking on our part to expect that the Department of Correctional Services can achieve, on its own, all the goals we have set for ourselves, without the support of the people of our country.
We believe strongly that the task of building a caring society for children by promoting their best interest, can best be discharged only if all communities are involved, helping us to do more. All offenders have an important role to play in ensuring that these interventions are implemented. We are encouraging all offenders to take part in activities that benefit society. As we have said, "it takes the community to raise the child".
Lastly, in line with the Imbeleko initiative, and in the spirit of "Ubuntu", we appeal to all South Africans to join us in the effort to save the children. We can all do this by "adopting a child", through various creative means, such as sponsoring a child or any other way, according to our abilities.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Correctional Services
18 September 2009
Source: Department of Correctional Services (http://www.dcs.gov.za)
