Chairperson of the portfolio committee, Members of Parliament, it is absolutely crucial that before delving into the actual amendments proposed I outline a critical context to these developments which will help everyone understanding the foundation of the changes we are proposing.
One of the defining characteristics of South Africa's transition from a repressive apartheid regime to a country whose prowess in constitutional changes is celebrated the world over, is the transformation of the country's prison system. The adoption of the South African Constitution in 1996 marked a pivotal point in the history of prisons in South Africa, as it instructs us to ensure a detention system that is based on the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights outlines human rights as one of the inalienable rights human beings should be entitled to, with significant implications for the country's prison system.
The White Paper passed by our Cabinet in February 2005, therefore, was a milestone that placed correction of the offending behaviour and rehabilitation of offenders at the centre of our mandate. With this new strategic direction we seek not only to tighten security and protect the victims and the public from thousands of offenders, but to protect the next victim of any offenders when they finish their sentences while still very energetic with capacity to further maim or injure society.
We therefore seek to address a very complex social phenomenon whose elements include addressing deep-rooted causes of the drive to commit crime, limiting the social stigmatisation which becomes a hurdle in social reintegration, intervening in a manner that empowers offenders to lead socially responsible and productive lives after release, and mobilising families, communities and various role-players to take up a more proactive and constructive role in ensuring the efficacy of the country's correctional system.
This new approach, which is also informed by the extensive experience and the best practices we have accumulated over years, is not accommodated in the existing Correctional Services Act. It therefore became imperative to initiate and to drive this process leading up to today's First Reading of the Correctional Services Amendment Bill.
I shall endeavour to outline the rationale more comprehensively, to unpack the suggested changes and the envisaged scenario and social impact, before giving some details on the exact changes proposed.
Besides the basic alignment of the Act with the new language framework and some technical changes to some names and words, there are six key issues on which the suggested amendments are based, which include: firstly, the enhancement of societal participation in the rehabilitation and social reintegration of offenders; secondly, modifying the conditions for the incarceration of sentenced mothers with babies; thirdly, providing a legislative framework for the new model for rehabilitation; fourthly, improving humane treatment of inmates; fifthly, improving the administration of the parole and correctional supervision system and lastly, streamlining of the functions of the judicial inspectorate to enhance its capacity to deliver on its mandate.
Community participation is regarded as the epitome of an effectively functioning correctional system, which the White Paper alludes to with absolute clarity in chapters 3 and 13. These chapters elaborately unpack how families, communities and various stakeholders need to contribute in advancing the cause of corrections. The current scenario is such that there is no legal framework for realising the ideal outlined in these chapters other than mere familial contacts.
I have for a number of years received numerous requests from people who are aware of the challenges we are faced with and who had volunteered to get into our centres to make a contribution - doctors, social workers and other ordinary members of society. With the amendments being approved, in particular clause 13, the National Commissioner of Correctional Services can and may allow community organisations, nongovernmental organisations and religious formations to interact with offenders for rehabilitation service delivery and even engage them where required to deliver the services on behalf of Correctional Services. Clauses 50 and 68 also seek to give the national commissioner powers to mobilise or accept volunteers in community corrections.
With regard to the sentenced mothers with children, the issue of the length of time children can spend with their sentenced mothers is also being addressed, with the reduction of the legally permissible period from five years to two years. This is informed by extensive research conducted, which demonstrates that the requisite child-mother bonding and stimulation can be achieved within the first two years of the birth of a child.
Various developed countries have provisions for children to stay with their mothers for a period of between 12 and 18 months. We took cognisance of the fact that the environment in a correctional facility is not conducive for the overall development of children, in particular during the first five years of their lives.
We understand the requirement for effective early childhood development and the resources we have can better assist those younger than two years. As we strengthen family and community participation in correctional centres, we will also be able to engage better with families to take responsibility for closing the gaps - assisted, of course, by departments like Social Development and Education.
With regard to the Offender Rehabilitation Path, we have also sought to provide a legal framework for our new model that is captured in the Offender Rehabilitation Path - ORP - adopted for guiding the management of an offender life cycle from admission to social reintegration. The department is now implementing the unit management system through which correctional sentence plans that address personal development needs are developed. So, clauses 37, 38, 40 and 41 of the proposed Bill are helping to close the gaps identified in the current Act, including the provision of care to offenders.
The other crucial element is the promotion of humane treatment of offenders. Although this is clearly spelt out in the Constitution, the scope for abuse of power and authority existed with our single cells used for punishment for transgressions committed during incarceration. The Bill seeks to outlaw the punitive use of the single cells for solitary confinement. And this lot here will never know what solitary confinement is all about.
The Bill introduces oversight mechanisms for the use of these single cells, which include the compulsory reporting of such a decision to the judicial inspectorate and to the Commissioner of Correctional Services with an intervention plan for correcting the offending behaviour and a need for the supervision of the implementation of such decisions. These provisions outlined in clauses 24, 30 and 31 will equally apply in cases where further restraints are required while an offender is in a single cell.
With regard to the correctional supervision and parole boards, the other crucial element is the improvement of the administration of the parole system. The White Paper is premised on a need for the restoration of harmed human relations and the creation of an interactive process at every stage of the delivery of correctional services. Offenders will be provided with a platform for oral representation in the parole system, while also empowering the correctional supervision and parole boards to compel the offender to participate in correction, development and social reintegration programmes within the prison, in communities - as you saw in Khayelitsha - and in society at large.
The provision of parole is the sole responsibility of the executive arm of government. It is a contract between the government and the offenders to continue serving a portion of their court sentence in the community, subject to specific conditions. The current Act prescribes minimum non- parole periods and thus erodes the government's responsibility to rehabilitate an offender and thus grant parole when and where the offender has demonstrated acceptance of responsibility and commitment to avoid reoffending.
In prescribing minimum non-parole periods, the Act invariably creates an expectation - that's the principal Act - and a culture of entitlement to parole. The Bill seeks to address this through the executive authority prescribing an incarceration framework on the advice of the National Council on Correctional Services. The application of these provisions is based on the assessment of the impact of various corrections and rehabilitation interventions on the offender.
The introduction of the incarceration framework in clause 73A will ensure consistency in the application of the Minister's powers in this regard. It is also important to note that in terms of section 73A(3) "the incarceration framework may not be applied in a manner that would be in conflict with any other law or any direction given or decision made by a court of law".
The whole parole system has been enhanced alongside the improvement of rehabilitation interventions and therefore there is unprecedented capacity for effective management of the system.
Last, but not least, the Bill seeks to relieve the inspecting judge of the administrative burden through the appointment and seconding of a chief executive officer to the judicial inspectorate to manage the day-to-day operations. The intervention will enhance the inspecting judge's focus on mainstream issues of ensuring effective oversight and adherence to the constitutional and legal provisions aimed at ensuring detention of offenders under conditions that are consistent with human dignity.
I am quite confident, Madam Speaker, that these changes will indeed place the delivery of correctional services on a new pedestal and affirm our position as a key player in the transformation of the prison system not only in South Africa, but also in the continent.
I am also very sure that these fundamental issues I have raised will need a fundamental shift in the mental framework of many people in order to understand that they are key to reducing reoffending and therefore to the safety and security of the South African public. I wish to make a call to you as public representatives and to the public at large to join in building a national partnership to correct, rehabilitate and reintegrate offenders for a safer and a more secure South Africa. Thank you, Chairperson.