Hon Deputy Chairperson, Deputy Minister and hon members of the House, Cope is delighted to note the appointment of the new national commissioner, Thomas Swabihi Moyane. We trust he will bring new hope and a better vision to the department. His presentation last week of the strategic plan for 2011-12 and 2012-15 was well received by all. We would also like to commend the Minister of Correctional Services for the excellent job she did by releasing Mr Mofokeng and Mr Mokoena. These two gentlemen had served 19 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. However, Cope is concerned about whether there are others who have similarly been overlooked.
We would like to emphasise the following. The parole management system, and especially the integrated information and communication technology systems, must be reviewed.
We hope that the national commissioner and the hon Minister will look seriously into the numerous challenges, as mentioned by the Deputy Minister. The following needs to be clarified: Whether the strategic plan will improve the aligning of the budget allocation with a more comprehensive justice management system, with measurable objectives inside and outside of prisons; and whether the escalation by R1 billion over two years in the information and communication technology, ICT, systems was as a result of the investigation made during 2009-10, which was never published. Will these reports ever be published, hon Minister? We don't know. Will transparency ever prevail in this department? We wonder if it will.
Can the Minister indicate how many consultants are currently being used in the department and how much was spent on them during the past financial year?
The issue of vetting and revetting, Deputy Minister, is a wonderful move. This will eliminate corruption and other issues, and we welcome that, Minister.
Regarding the issue of overcrowding, how is this going to be dealt with? Time and time again you are being pumped by these people. You mentioned the issue of restorative justice. How is the committee going to implement it? Because you can eliminate this overcrowding by introducing a project of community service and getting hard-working people to go and work in the communities, for example by cleaning during weekends.
Regarding the preparation of those hardened criminals who have been serving sentences for a long time, are they being prepared for their integration into communities? Sometimes when such people arrive at home, they find their family, wife or children are no longer there. They arrive at empty homes. They will commit crime that very night. Do we have such projects, Deputy Minister? We would appreciate them if they exist. Thank you.