Chairperson
The Honourable Minister of the Department of Correctional Services, Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Mr Vincent Smith
Ministers and Deputy Ministers from sister departments
Honourable members of the house
Our National Commissioner, Ms Xoliswa Sibeko
Management and officials from Correctional Centres
Representatives of non-governmental organisation (NGOs) and other civil society formations
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Introduction
It is, indeed, an honour and a privilege to stand in front of this august house to deliver my maiden speech as Deputy Minister of Correctional Services. This is a fascinating phase, in our growing democracy, characterised by a successfully concluded fourth democratic elections, with unprecedented numbers, which gave this administration a resounding vote of confidence and a mandate to continue with the transformation agenda.
Chairperson, allow me to add my voice in extending a word of appreciation and gratitude to the previous Minister Ngconde Balfour and Deputy Minister Loretta Jacobus for their contributions in accelerating the transformation of Correctional Services, as well as to all correctional officials, particularly those managing our correctional centres on a daily basis. I also want to extend the same sentiments to all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating within our correctional centres and in ensuring the smooth reintegration of our ex-offenders back to communities.
We also acknowledge our democratic government for having made a remarkable contribution towards developing policies which are meant to transform our criminal justice system, thereby aligning it with values enshrined in our Constitution and the culture of human rights.
Chairperson, at the onset, I have to put the challenge and the task in our hands in its context. We are facing our own history of the apartheid system, which was declared by the United Nations (UN) as a crime against humanity, as far back as 1948. The apartheid system led to the break down of the African family unit, the loss of the community values, and, the spirit of Ubuntu. The long term generational consequence, of the said state orchestrated violence, is illustrated by numbers of young people who are, continuously, in conflict with the law.
The Correctional Services Act of 1998 and, the White Paper of 2005, are critical pillars to our new agenda. These instruments have laid a firm foundation for a correctional system, within an ethical framework, which protects the integrity of our processes. The most important thing is respect for the inherent human dignity, of all human beings, irrespective of their personal or social status.
We are presenting aspects of the budget vote, at the time, when the department is resolved to intensify implementation. It is our firm belief that the South African society, should begin to reap the fruits of the promise of the White Paper.
A shift from prisons to correctional centres
This shift in policy inculcates a new culture and mindset by placing the victim, at the centre of the concept of restorative justice. The world learned an important lesson from the Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) process, that a lot more can be done through the restoration of dignity of the other, instead, of vindictiveness.
Our new paradigm is based on the premise that victims should remain at the centre of the criminal justice system. The victims’ charter balances the scale of justice and ensures that our work, with offenders, does not compromise our duty and responsibilities towards victims. It emphasises our commitment to “put the needs of the victims at the heart of the criminal justice system.”
In this regard, our offender detention, classification, rehabilitation and social reintegration programmes, are influenced by our determination to break the cycle of recidivism.
Offender classification
Classification of offenders, on admission, is a critical step in the processing of devising effective rehabilitation programmes. Classification categories become an objective instrument, through which to measure corrections and development of inmates. In the case of repeat offenders, for instance, our specialists would have to account, in case of frequent occurrences of serious crimes, such as sexual crimes and murder. As things stand today, we can trace patterns of classification by category and offences, such as:
* children in conflict with the law, 14 to 18
* affluence (girls) substance abuse 18 to 25
* young women shoplifting
* husband murder and passions (women)
* cash in transit heists (young men)
* armed robbery (young men).
Offender rehabilitation
I challenge all correctional officials to live up to the spirit of the White Paper. Approach your work with commitment, diligence and integrity with a zero tolerance for corruption.
We commend you for choosing to work with men and women who are deprived of their liberty, many of whom are drug addicts, some are murderers, some are kleptomaniacs and some have psychopathic tendencies. We rely on you to transfer the values and skills of good citizenry so as to ensure that they return to society as socially responsible and law abiding citizens.
Having placed rehabilitation at the centre of all activities, we will continue to strike a balance between safe custody and rehabilitation. Chairperson, I call upon the offenders to seize opportunities afforded to them with both hands and begin the journey towards self correction and regain their liberty.
To support this call, elements of the White Paper have been translated into the Offender Rehabilitation Path (ORP), which illustrates the journey of an offender from the point of entering the correctional facility to the point of reintegration into society.
Correctional Services has adopted a Unit Management approach, which focuses on the direct supervision of offenders, whereby each inmate will be allocated to case officers. With the new approach, each inmate is a focal point. This new approach tracks the individual offender, so that they are not lost in the system. The path of the offender is monitored until reintegration is complete.
Strengthening our interventions to fight the HIV and AIDS scourge
It is encouraging, chairperson, to note that the department, in collaboration with the Department of Health, has established 19 wellness centres that, among others, prioritise the fight against HIV and AIDS, providing antiretroviral (ARVs) to over 6500 inmates nationally. Our department is a signatory to the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), a forum aimed at prioritising the HIV and AIDS scourge, which has ravaged many communities.
We must build on what has been achieved over the years by ensuring that anti HIV and AIDS programmes and primary health care are accessible at all centres. We will be interacting with our specialists, like psychologists and psychiatrists so as to ensure that inmates get comprehensive care. One of the areas we need to strengthen is the attraction and retention of scarce skills required to effectively deliver on our rehabilitation programmes. Currently vacancy rates range from 52 percent to 70 percent in the scarce skills categories that include psychologists, pharmacists and medical doctors. We would consult all stakeholders in search for ways of attracting and incentives professionals with scarce skills.
I will pay special attention to the proposed establishment of “centres of expertise,” which seek to close the spatial development gaps between rural and under developed areas on one side and urban well developed areas on the other.
Rehabilitation challenges
Any therapist who has ever devised a rehabilitation programme will talk about pre-requisites which are essential for interventions to be effective. For the purpose of this budget vote, I will be the first to admit that current challenges have too many confounding variables. These have to do with:
* overcrowding
* ill-preparedness of our officials to be caretakers of rehabilitation programmes as against custodial care
* high levels of illiteracy amongst our offenders
* conspiracy of silence on the magnitude of dysfunctional families, moral degeneration in society, including the diminishing spirit of Ubuntu
For example, our bed capacity is 115 000, against an inmate population of 165 000. This represents a 42 percent of overcrowding, which has a negative impact on morale, provision of service and security. This puts a cloud on rehabilitation attempts.
The number of correctional centres in South Africa currently stands at 239, with a fraction undergoing renovation and reconstruction. In contrast, there is a growing population of over 165 000 offenders and inmates. Although the said increase is of concern, the impact of our rehabilitation programmes and monitored co-ordination of the criminal justice system should begin to turn the situation around.
Special categories of offenders
The White Paper has made provisions for a needs-based rehabilitation approach, which implies that offenders are not a uniform entity. There are different categories such as women, children, awaiting trial young offenders with disabilities and the elderly.
Women
Chairperson, I am saddened to announce, to this house, that just yesterday, I accompanied the Minister to the Pollsmoor Correctional Centre, where we came to terms with the difficulties experienced by infants, children and women in correctional centres. Much as we acknowledge, the fact that, some of them have broken the law, the majority of them come from extremely difficult socio-economic conditions.
Current Correctional Services statistics indicate that, there are 2 489 sentenced women, and 1 070 unsentenced women. Chairperson, internationally, women constitute a small fraction of offender populations with South Africa, only having 3 359 female offenders among its 165 000 population. This may sound small and, therefore, negligible, but consider the profoundly important role of women in society. Attention must be given to ensure appropriate responses to this challenge.
I strongly believe there are ruthless and cunning women criminals who deserve to be incarcerated to protect our society. However, an overwhelming majority of women are in prison purely because of a series of factors, including structural poverty, women abuse and conditions of absolute desperation, given dependence of children, and communities on them, for making ends meet. We must, therefore, have a differential approach to dealing with this dynamic scenario. Ideally, women do not belong in our correctional centres. But we have managed to introduce, a number of programmes that are aimed at alleviating the plight of women and children in our facilities.
Further, there are currently 2 513 female offenders incarcerated in South African correctional centres, of these, 620 are yet to be sentenced. In addition, there are 151 infants of 277 incarcerated mothers
Our biggest challenge is that, our facilities were never designed to address special needs of women. Our aim is to turn the situation around, working hand in hand, with gender experts, in the community to address facilities programmes and to seek alternative forms of serving a sentence.
The international protocols are clear, about a need to avoid imprisonment of women, unless it is a measure of absolute last resort, and I believe we have not explored fully these options as a nation. More over, our facilities were never designed to address the needs of women and other special categories of offenders, including children and people with disabilities. Changing our facilities and implementing diversion programmes, collaboratively, with society, accepting this approach, are key areas of delivery in this regard. A framework for realising these goals is expected to be finalised by the end of this year.
We appreciate efforts undertaken, over the past financial year, which resulted in 2 130 women participating in development programmes. I am told, as well, that some cosmetic changes are being effected, including colourful paints courts for infants etc. that contribute towards improving the outlook of female offenders.
Infants
The issue of very small babies, in correctional facilities, requires particular sensitive consideration. Currently there are 151 infants, between 0 to 2 years, within our correctional centres. The Correctional Services Act makes provision for keeping children, up to the age of two years, with their incarcerated mothers, in our correctional facilities. Our turnaround strategy will include collaboration, with experts in the field and will ensure that the early childhood development programmes are introduced. All interventions will be aimed at ensuring that their environment is rendered normal, as soon as it could be done.
To address the plight of infants in our correctional centres, our department will soon launch a campaign aimed at their social reintegration. In this regard, we are inviting communities, religious organisations, civil society at large, and private sector companies, to join us, in establishing a sustainable network towards this just cause. All our efforts should be geared towards achieving what is in the best interest of the child.
Children
According to recent statistics there were 860 sentenced children (female = 21, male = 839) (female = 35, male = 768) and 803 unsentenced children in our facilities as at March 2009. A report released in September 2007 by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission blames the lack of a systematic and uniform criminal justice system to protect children in conflict with the law.
The above incidence remains our shame, even though our icon Mr Nelson Mandela, as far back as 1993, upon receiving his Nobel Peace Prize, had said, “it is a matter of shame and serious concern that many children in our country are idling in our prisons and police stations.”
The inter-departmental task team, driving the process of removing children from the centres, will intensify their work, in keeping with Article 37 (1) of the Convention of the Rights of the Child that states, “No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily.” And Rule 13 of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, that says, “The arrest, detention or imprisonment shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.”
Chairperson, let us heed the call of the President to build a nation filled with the joy and laughter of children.
Awaiting trial detainees (ATDs)
There are 32 738 males aged between 18 and 25 years already serving their sentences, whilst a further 22 092 are awaiting-trial detainees (ATDs). While there are 605 offenders, already sentenced females, a further 405 are awaiting-trial detainees.
Due to systematic clogs and overcrowding within the broader criminal justice system, the majority of offenders, within our centres, becomes secondary victims, as they do not enjoy easy access to programmes aimed it rehabilitating them. This affects our offender rehabilitation path, aimed at the speedy social reintegration of ex-offenders, back into society. To address this, the Department is planning to establish a number of specialist centres, where needy offenders are referred to, for special attention.
Our mission for this term is to decisively capacitate implementation of the framework. We must strengthen delivery of effective security to protect our people from criminals, be they women, children, people with disabilities or any other vulnerable groups in our society.
Human development approach to fighting crime
We are assuming leadership of an institution that has moved to ensure offender development, through provision of education, skills, sport, recreation, arts and cultural competencies. As a nation, we must appreciate the fact that:
* Over 10 000 illiterate and under-skilled offenders are given a second chance to lead productive and fulfilling lives, through Adult Basic Education.
* Productive engagement of 45 000 offenders in various farms, workshops and technical education and computer centres, to mention, but a few, while over 108 000 are engaged in sport, arts and culture that are critical in building characters.
We are today, tabling, for your consideration and approval, a budget of R448 million for delivering on these targets. We have a responsibility to ensure that our budget begins to find a balance between security and rehabilitation. We also have to come up with innovative ways of overcoming budgetary limitations. One of those would be to seek partnerships with agencies like the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), which was launched on 16 June, a day of the African Child.
The social integration policy
For society to reap the fruits of this policy, we need to embark on social and, education, conscience raising programmes, so as to ensure that as South Africans, we all join hands for peace and human security. For example, when offenders are released, they need to be reintegrated back to society as soon as possible, so as to avoid a temptation to revert back to old habits we do not have the luxury to turn a blind eye. We should not become accessories before the fact. Further, we should contribute towards preventing new offences, by stopping to buy or hide stolen goods in our houses, “ningathi ingane yam iyangiphandela”. Bazali, lugotshwa lusemanzi. In that way, we will be uprooting the core of recidivism.
Offenders from poor, rural communities face serious challenges, as they are released back, to their impoverished communities, with a paucity of social agencies such as halfway houses, hospice houses, food security and employment opportunities. While opportunities, for employment, are generally scarce, for all ex-offenders, those in rural areas carry an extra burden.
These are some of the strategic issues which should inform our campaigns for wider community participation in the integration and further development of our ex-offenders.
The White Paper on Corrections clearly articulates the pivotal role the family, community and the society, at large, play in the rehabilitation and social reintegration of the offender. The family is viewed as the basic building block of society, where right or wrong is taught. We appeal to families to re-inject appropriate cultural norms and values and invest time and resources in the socialisation of the young ones. In instances where family members have got into trouble, the family remains a crucial part of support and reintegration. Let me sound a call to the business sector, to come on board and offer employment opportunities, to ex-offenders, that acquired qualifications, skills and competencies while under our care.
Our new agenda includes opening our doors for public scrutiny, within the security parameters. It is imperative to maintain the bonds between the offenders and their families. Family and friends should come and visit inmates, The manner in which families and visitors are treated at various centres, on arrival, is often a good measure, of how well, the correctional centre is managed. We expect our personnel to live, by the principles, of Batho Pele and treat visitors of our inmates with dignity and respect. We should demonstrate that “we belong, we care and we serve”. In the same vein, we invite communities to participate in our drive to change the lives of offenders by correcting the offending behaviour. We are going to be vigilant, so be warned! Do not smuggle illicit items, placing the lives of offenders and correctional officers in danger.
Challenges
In our quest to intensify our implementation agenda, we are cognisant of the many challenges that may mitigate against our intentions. Overcrowding remains our greatest challenge, to our rehabilitation and re-integration agenda and needs collaboration in the criminal justice system to utilise the available legislative provisions to reduce the numbers. Overcrowding burdens the limited scarce skills.
The other challenge is that, the public has limited knowledge about the correctional system as presented to you today. Hence, we are going to go out, to the public and call for co-operation. Our Imbizos will invite the public to come up with localised community correction forums. One of the key objectives of the said community support structures could be to enrol our ex-offenders to industrial parks, so as to ensure that skills acquired during incarceration are further developed for entrepreneurships.
Capacity development of personnel will be prioritised to ensure that there is a buy-in and that all role players are equal to the task of driving Correctional Services transformation agenda.
Conclusion
Let us join hands and build a crime-free society and a correctional system that operates within an ethical framework to break the cycle of crime and eliminate re-offending. I invite, all South Africans, to take a leaf from the song of the legend Michael Jackson, “If you want to make a world a better place, start with the man in the mirror and change your ways.” The fight is about us, for us and for our future.
As we approach this great challenge, let us pause and reflect, on the words of President Jacob Zuma, during his maiden State of the Nation Address, when he called on all of us, to focus on that which makes us, human. The President further urged us to develop a shared value system, based on the spirit of
Issued by: Department of Correctional Services
30 June 2009
