Chairperson, Ministers, hon members and comrades, the amendments proposed by the department are informed by sections of the Preamble to our Constitution which confirm that one of the cornerstones of our continued development as a nation is our collective determination to heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.
Furthermore, the Bill of Rights directs that-
Everyone has the right ...
(a) not to be deprived of freedom arbitrarily or without just cause ...
It is common knowledge that the management of remand detainees has thus far been somewhat of a challenge with respect to overcrowding, the time spent in prison, and security. The amendment dealing with the time spent in incarceration by remand detainees now has a set time limit of two years, and the committee welcomes that. Suspects are often detained for lengthy periods, even as long as seven years, awaiting the conclusion of their trial. Part of the reason for this delay has been the slow processes of our criminal justice system.
Another amendment concerns the manner of treatment of vulnerable sectors of our society, such as pregnant remand detainees, the mentally unstable remand detainees, the physically disabled remand detainees, and those exposed to sexual and other forms of abuse whilst incarcerated in the remand detention facilities. In our view, all life is of equal worth, even the lives of those that might be suspected of being on the wrong side of the law.
The committee remains concerned about the wellbeing of remand detainees released into the custody of the SAPS for purposes of further investigations. Whilst the committee accepts that this is unavoidable, we insist that the time spent in the SAP'S custody be limited to the shortest possible time, not exceeding seven days. The primary reason for this is that the SAPS detention facilities are not suitable for lengthy detention periods and impinge on the human dignity of detainees. It is also our view that the executive and Parliament should expedite the ratification of the antitorture legislation.
In the committee's view, the second aspect of this piece of legislation goes a long way towards bringing certainty and transparency to the implementation of parole. The section that deals with exactly who may initiate a review of decisions of the parole board was highly contested and debated within the committee. The amendments provide that the Minister, the National Commissioner and the Judicial Inspectorate are the only stakeholders that may initiate such action. It is our view that whilst this provision is supported, this matter should be revisited in future if the need arises.
As regards medical parole, the committee strongly supports the fact that an independent panel of medical practitioners will henceforth be established to verify whether an inmate qualifies for medical parole. It is also important to note that the criteria for medical parole will include, amongst others, the limited capacity of inmates to care for themselves due to physical disability, such as those who have suffered a severe stroke, or who are wheelchair-bound, etc. The criteria for medical parole will include the very strict condition that the risk of re-offending whilst on parole is very small.
Furthermore, the amendments make provision for all inmates to consult a personal medical practitioner in addition to the medical staff provided by the Department of Correctional Services, if and when they need to initiate an application for medical parole.
Notwithstanding these observations, the committee is unanimously supportive of the amendments.
We take this opportunity to acknowledge the valuable inputs made by civil society stakeholders. We want to express our appreciation and gratitude to colleagues in the committee from the IFP, the DA and Cope for the role they played in finalising the committee's work with regard to this piece of legislation.
[Inaudible.]
Thank you, Mr Ellis.
The Committee urges the House to adopt the Report and also urges this august House to adopt the Correctional Matters Amendment Bill. There was no debate.
Chairperson, I move:
That the Report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.