The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services today urged for greater rehabilitation and social integration at correctional facilities across the country.
Committee Chairperson, Dr Mathole Motshekga, said the involvement of students in the humanities faculties was important to achieve this goal. “University students studying social work or psychology can be used to fill the gap where vacancies exist in the department.” He added that Honours and Masters Students could be used to provide this service.
In a presentation to the Committee today, the Department of Correctional Services indicated that it was struggling with the high rate of resignations of its officials. In the last year, 740 officials resigned. The Committee further reiterated the importance of establishing halfway houses or rehabilitation centres. The Committee heard that these facilities exist in most provinces but the department were experiencing challenges in three provinces. Dr Motshekga emphasised that these facilities should be a priority.
“If we do not rehabilitate them, the same group of offenders will be returning to correctional centres adding to the burden of new entrance. This will lead to further overcrowding of already full facilities and makes the system unworkable,” said Dr Motshekga. The Committee heard that correctional facilities could only accommodate 120 000 offenders but currently had 158 000 people in its care.
“If young people end up in correctional centres without rehabilitation occurring, it can become a burial site for them. What would then happen to our future?” The Committee recommended the drafting of a Human Reconciliation and Development Programme. “This will ensure that young people entering centres are rehabilitated, that they are turned into productive members of society.”
Dr Motshekga further stated that those were societal challenges that the department was grappling with and therefore not only theirs to deal with. “However, the Committee will keep a watchful eye to see how you are dealing with this,” he said.
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Rajaa Azzakani
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E-mail: razzakani@parliament.gov.za
