Hon Chair, let me start with a quote: "No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails." This was written by South Africa's most famous ex-prisoner, uTata Madiba. Overcrowding, infectious diseases, unnatural deaths, these are a few of the realities that plague prisoners inside our jails daily.
In 2014 during the Budget Vote, it was admitted that overcrowding was a serious problem that was being faced in South African prisons. It is now 2019 and overcrowding is still a significant issue being faced by prisons throughout the country.
The overcrowding issue not only brings to light the inadequacies of our current justice system but shows lack of accountability. To address this issue of overcrowding, there needs to be a more effective criminal justice system in order to deter people from committing crimes. There also needs to be a more successful rehabilitation programmes as overcrowding is significantly related to the failure to adequately rehabilitate offenders, creating a dangerous cycle resulting in most criminals returning to prison after being released. This is clear in the estimate that 85% to 94% of inmates in our country reoffend after their release. This must be addressed and effective rehabilitation programmes should be implemented to ensure that the fight against crime is not counterproductive.
President Ramaphosa in his state of the nation address promised to reduce crimes by half by 2030. But crime is rife and on the increase. It is not helped by the current economic growth as people turn to crime out of desperation which hampers any progress in
changing the mind set of offenders and would be offenders to commit crimes.
Overcrowding is a serious problem as it exacerbates the possibility of contracting infectious disease such as TB and HIV.
Our prisons also fail to adequately provide care for those suffering from mental illness.
The overcrowding problem further complicates access to psychological services which are largely inaccessible due to our congested system.
Finally, we have been made aware of another example that needs to be managed by the correctional services system through better monitoring and stricter controls. In the Westville Prison in Durban, we have been made aware that, certain inmates demand cell phone numbers of parents of first offenders. They then phone the mother or other vulnerable family members of the offender and put the phone on loudspeaker when they demand money from the mother while they are torturing the offender. They give an ultimatum to the family member that, if money is not received, the offender will be killed.
Parents or spouses become victims of the system and subsequently face mental, psychological and emotional torture in this regard. What is worse is that many of these parents do not have the kind of money that is demanded. They end up getting loans, often through loan sharks to save the lives of their children.
The IFP calls for the urgent collaboration between the various departments such as Public Works, Health, Social Development and this department to address these abovementioned issues. The IFP support the Budget Vote. Thank you. [Applause.]
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