Programme director
The MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison, Honorable Gloria GhishmaRegional Commissioner, NJ Jolingana
The Executive Mayor of the Buffalo City Municipality, Ms Zukiswa Faku
Representatives of the private sector
Leaders of faith-based formations
Non-Governmental Organisations
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Our gathering here today is, indeed, testimony to our belief in the words of Dorothy Corkille Briggs, who wrote in her book (Your Child’s Self-esteem), written as early as 1970, that, “Every normal infant is born with the potential for psychological health. But whether that potential flourishes depends on the psychological climate lived in. A high self-esteem comes from the quality of the relationship that exists between the child and those who play a significant role in his or her life”.
It is our conviction in the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) 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. There is no doubt the environment is of overriding importance to the development of the child.
Today we meet here out of the urgent need to introduce a system aimed at improving the management and treatment of babies and infants in correctional centres around South Africa. This initiative seeks to find alternative ways that have the best interest of children at heart. The placement of the babies with suitable extended families on foster care and possible adoption is fully supported by the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 as amended, which gives effect to certain rights of children as contained in the Constitution. The Act sets out principles for the care and protection of children.
In this context, our initiative to address the plight of babies through the launch of the Imbeleko Project in correctional facilities is aligned to the Government Plan of Action (GPOA) of creating a safe environment for all children to grow up in. In addition, in his State of the Nation Address, President Jacob Zuma, committed government to service delivery by outlining a programme of action that saw the established of a New Ministry in the Presidency; the Ministry for Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities. This strategic development means that all vulnerable groups, especially children, enjoy the privilege of receiving priority attention from our government.
This New Ministry is also established to ensure the mainstreaming of services and programmes by government departments, communities and civil society for the betterment and enhancement of the quality of life of children in South Africa.
South Africa is a signatory to various international as well as the national treaties, with the noble intention to protect children. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, for example, makes provision for interventions appropriate to the child’s well being whilst in the institutional care.
Further, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw); and the SADC Addendum on the Eradication of Violence Against Women and Children, prohibits any form of violence against women and children. To ensure that the above protocols are not just reduced to paper, the Department of Correctional Services, as an organ of the state, has taken a number of strides to fully embrace government’s strategies and is maintaining a firm position of promoting and complying with these treaties.
Section 28 (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 emphasises that every child has a right to be kept in conditions and be treated in a manner that takes into account the child’s age and medical condition. It also emphasises the fact that the best interest of the child is of paramount in interventions related to children.
The Department of Correctional Services, aligning itself with other broader government programmes of action, has prioritised children’s issues by ensuring that the best interests of the babies are prioritized, introduced the Correctional Services Amendment Act (Act No 25 of 2008), where the age of the babies who are with their incarcerated mothers has been reduced from the age of 2 years to 5 years. This is aimed at ensuring that these infants are reintegrated back into society whilst still at an early and formative stage, so that they can still undergo socialization within a proper and natural environment.
In pursuing these mandates; the department has undertaken this initiative to build and strengthen systems for the effective management and treatment of the babies within the Correctional facilities. The initiative is directly aligned to the departments’ strategic direction to reach out to the vulnerable as outlined in the White Paper on Corrections in South Africa (2005) and in the DCS Strategic Plan. The strategic plan of DCS succinctly reflects our position to provide needs based services to the vulnerable groups falling within the ambit of our services. This includes our innocent babies who happen to find themselves in DCS facilities.
Babies find themselves in the correctional system not out of their own choice, but because of the circumstances that their mothers find themselves in. These babies are admitted with their mothers in the Correctional facilities because the mothers are serving a sentence or are Awaiting Trial Detainees (ATD). Some are born in correctional facilities since their mothers were sentenced whilst pregnant. The correctional environment is not conducive for the child’s development since the DCS structure (facility) was never meant for such child-rearing purposes.
There are currently 168 babies within correctional facilities nationally as on 6 August 2009, with Gauteng leading with a total number of 84 babies.
The incarceration of mothers with babies including those mothers who are expectant is compounded by the adversarial nature of the criminal justice system which does at times not consider the best interest of the child who is dependant on the perpetrator (mother) for purposes of care, protection, nurturing and bonding.
Research and literature attests to the counter effects of imprisonment on children as well as the negative effects of the restrictive walls of the correctional facilities. As a result the department is undertaking the Imbeleko Project to forge partnerships with all the relevant stakeholders to build and strengthen efforts for effective management and treatment of the babies within the correctional facilities.
Currently the department renders services and programmes to mothers and babies who are with their incarcerated mothers in partnership with the external service providers and other stakeholders. Such efforts are highly appreciated and there is a need to formalise partnerships as the previous interventions particularly from other state departments have not been adequately tapped on to address the plight of babies in correctional facilities.
Let me not hesitate to say that the strategy that we are launching today is two pronged. I have been talking of placing the babies out but we must agree that the Correctional Services Act as amended makes provision for babies to stay with their mothers in DCS facilities up to the age of two. The department therefore has an obligation to normalise the environment to respond appropriately to the needs of these children until these babies are ready to be placed out as stated in the Correctional Services Amendment Act (Act No 25 of 2008).
In this regard, the work of the Regional Commissioner and her team of experts in the Eastern Cape is commendable for ensuring that the babies are accommodated in a more homely environment by ensuring that their developmental needs are somehow addressed. The East London mother and child unit is a benchmark and a blue print of how our facilities can be revamped and upgraded to be child friendly. This model can be adopted and replicated in the other centres where babies are accommodated.
To ensure that we are rolling out this excellent programme to other centres around the country, the department has already undertaken the following ground work:
- Profiled babies to determine their circumstances, their location in different regions, their age groups, the availability of social support system, as well as the circumstances of their mothers
- Profiling mothers to determine their personal circumstances, current support systems and their prospects to look after the child after they complete their sentence
- Vigorously engaged mothers in the intensive preparation for separation with their babies in order to ensure that mothers understand the position of the department and that it is not to be punitive towards the baby but to ensure that the best interests of the babies are kept at a centre stage
- The auditing of the female centres as well as the mother and child unit is underway as well and the results of this audit will assist the department to identify what need to be done to harmonise our facilities
- Trained Early Childhood Development (ECD) practitioners in partnership with the Department of Education.
In conclusion, I stand here today to urge all the stakeholders, and the general South African public, to work together with the Department of Correctional Services in addressing the plight of all babies currently in our facilities. You will also recall that during the State of the Nation address, the President of the country made a call; urging all South Africans to work together in building a cohesive, caring and sustainable communities through intensifying service delivery.
Correctional Services alone cannot work in isolation in building a caring society for children; the involvement of the community is critical as corrections is a societal responsibility. It is therefore of utmost importance that the external stakeholders join hands with the department to find alternative suitable placement for the babies in our facilities. The alternative placements include placement with the extended family members, placement on foster care or even adoption depending on the circumstance of each child. The role that other departments need to play such as Department of Social Development, Department of Education, Department of Justice, Civil Society formations and the community in general is very critical.
In line with the Imbeleko Initiative, the department is appealing to all stakeholders in the community to embrace and accept the responsibility to care for these children. We should always remember that it takes the community to raise the child.
Thank you.
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