Chairperson of the NCCS: Judge Desai
Members of the NCCS
National Commissioner: Mr Tom S Moyane
Officials of the Department
A very good morning to you. It is, indeed, an honour for me to finally meet you all.
I am aware that the National Council is a statutory body, appointed in terms of Section 83 and 84 of the Correctional Services Act (Act 111 of 1998). Its primary purpose is to provide advice in terms of policy, with regards to the correctional system and the sentencing process. I am also aware, historically, of the contribution the Department has received from the NCCS on issues pertaining to:
- Policy;
- Overcrowding;
- Remand Detention;
- Issues around Youth and Children;
- Parole Reviews; and
- Currently, you are considering offenders sentenced to life in terms of the Van Wyk judgment.
It is a privilege for us, as a Department, to have a Board of your calibre, comprising of:
- Judges;
- Psychologists;
- A medical doctor;
- An Advocate;
- An Attorney;
- A Magistrate;
- A Brigadier from the South African Police;
- Experts with a wealth of experience in penology and the correctional system; and
- Directors of distinguished organisations.
I am also aware that last year, you held a Strategic Session where you highlighted critical issues that you want to focus on as Council as well as outcomes you want to achieve during your term of office.
On Tuesday (18 September), I had a brief discussion with your Secretariat, Ms Thando Tsetsewa, to discuss, amongst other things, this meeting. I handed her a copy of an article that appeared in Business Day on 23rd August, and requested her to circulate the article. I am hoping that we can set aside some time to discuss this issue of Overcrowding at our Correctional Centres. This, in my opinion, is an important issue that the Department must be seen to be acting upon. I am, therefore, hoping, colleagues, to be guided by you on how we can tackle this issue.
On Monday (17 September), we officially launched the “Reading for Redemption” campaign as well as opened an Integrated Resource Centre at St. Alban’s Correctional Centre in Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape. More than a million rand worth of books have been donated to inmates, since the announcement of the “Reading for Redemption” campaign and our call to all organs of society to donate constructive books to aid the Department’s path towards the rehabilitation of offenders.
In Brazil, for example, prisons are offering an interesting option to select prisoners: read and write essays on works of literature, philosophy and science to reduce sentences by four days for every book completed. Prisoners have one month to read each book and write book reports that must ‘make use of paragraphs, be free of corrections, use margins and legible joined-up writing’. The programme allows avid readers to shave up to 48 days off their sentence every year. Statistics, and analysis, show some strong links between literacy and crime levels.
As government, we are passionate about galvanising understanding and support for our transformative agenda from prisons to corrections, and preparing those of our offenders who need to get ready to be reintegrated as functional members of society. Key to rehabilitation is empowering offenders to have skills to function effectively in society on their release but, equally important, is to ensure that offenders are actively involved in productive activity while they serve their sentences. We want to see offenders proudly contributing to their self-care.
To this end, 1,873 offenders are currently studying towards their Grade 12/Matric. Since 2006, certain Correctional Centres, such as Usethubeni Youth School at Westville in Durban, have been achieving an above 90% average matric pass rate, and we are confident that we are on track towards a 100% pass rate.
Nine hundred and ninety one (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 next year (2013), it will be compulsory for every inmate to complete ABET level 1 to 4.
We are also encouraged by steps that the Department has taken towards establishing a trading entity, which will impact positively on utilisation of offender labour. Through this trading entity, we can offer our customer base consisting of government , NGO’s and the private sector a wide variety of products and services, ranging from furniture, clothing, printing, signage, steel works, food products, agriculture and many others.
In this regard, we are entering into dialogue with the private sector to establish what we call after-care centres for parolees and ex-offenders where they are able to be involved in productive labour. We will host a seminar with business leaders, and key stakeholders, on how we can address the stigma that makes the reintegration of offenders into the community such a difficult process for offenders and an onerous task for the department.
The trilogy of offender, victim and community must come to the fore. According to law, an offender is regarded as having committed an offence against the state (even the charge sheet reads “State versus the accused”), and the criminal procedure is complete once due legal process has been complied with. However, the victim must also be central to the justice system.
Rehabilitation of offenders must take into account the feelings, and hurt, of victims, even if this results in a simple acknowledgement of wrongdoing to the victim. Although this may not be a legal requirement, it is fundamentally important to the victim.
In conclusion, I would like all of you to know that you have my full support in the work that you are doing, and I am looking forward to your proposals, recommendations and further engagements to assist the Department in fulfilling our mandate.
I Thank You!
