1.1 In its consideration of the Department of Correctional Services' budget the Committee held budget hearings (18 June 2009) and received a briefing by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) on its budget and strategic plan (23 June 2009). 1.2 The Committee invited comment on the DCS' 2009/10 budget from the Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services (JICS), labour unions, non-governmental organisations and research institutions. The following stakeholders responded to the Committee's invitation: the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO), the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Khulisa, the Civil S ociety Prison Reform Initiative (CSPRI), the Public Service Association (PSA), the Police and Prison Civil Rights Union (POPCRU), as well as the JICS. 1.3 The Department officials who appeared before the Committee included: Ms X Sibeko (National Commissioner), Mr T Motseki (Chief Deputy Commissioner: Corrections), Ms S Moodley (Chief Deputy Commissioner: Development and Care), Ms J Schreiner (Chief Deputy Commissioner: Operations and Management Support), Mr M Wolela (Acting Chief Deputy Commissioner: Central Services) and Ms N Mareka (Acting Chief Financial Officer). 1.4 This report comprises an overview of concerns raised by stakeholders and the presentations made by the Department. As the DCS' strategic plan had not yet been tabled at the time of the budget hearings stakeholder input was restricted to the 2009 Estimates of National Expenditure. 1.5 The report should be read in the context of the time constraints imposed on the Committee by the parliamentary programme, which made it difficult for Members to engage as thoroughly as they would have preferred on the details of the Department's strategic objectives. The value, however, of covering key aspects of the Department's presentation in this report is that it provides the Committee with a useful basis to more effectively monitor the Department's progress and more rigorously fulfill its oversight responsibilities. 1.6 The Committee is extremely concerned that despite the rehabilitation and social reintegration objectives contained in the Department's White Paper on Corrections, and echoed in its core mandate, Development, Care and Social Reintegration programmes remain under-funded. The Committee recommends that the budget be supported but will have extensive interactions with the Department to monitor whether there is synergy between strategic objectives and budget allocation. 1.7 The Committee intends to have regular meetings with the Department to review progress on the implementation of its Strategic Plan. These meetings will provide it with the opportunity to pursue many of the concerns raised during the budget process.