Chairperson, much in this particular Bill is unobjectionable. It changes the terms and in some respects brings the Act in line with the concepts that were articulated in the White Paper to which the Minister referred.
The Minister made a number of comments about the Bill, some of which I would like to respond to. The first issue was that concerning mothers and children. I quite understand where the Minister comes from in terms of making sure that wherever possible children should not grow up in a prison environment. But, the fact of the matter is that each child is different and has different circumstances, and we are certainly not a developed country in the same sense as many countries in Europe.
It is a fact that the crche that is in the women's prison in Pretoria is much better than crches in many of the communities from which many of the inmates come. It might actually be preferable for those children to grow up in that environment rather than being put in foster care, which might destroy the family relationship.
This Bill is already before the committee and the committee has started dealing with some of the more controversial aspects of it. These include the fact - which the Minister referred to - that the Minister, in consultation with the National Council for Correctional Services, may determine minimum periods of sentences before inmates may be considered for parole. At the moment inmates must serve a minimum period of between one sixth of their sentence and 25 years in the case of life sentences. I think this is one of the things that the committee has to grapple with because it is controversial that the executive can now, as it were, determine the minimum periods of sentences.
The real problem is that it is one thing to legislate and it is another thing to bring about changes in the correctional system. I will just give you one example: The current principal Act contains in section 7 a provision that prisoners must be held in cells which meet the requirements prescribed by regulation in respect of floor space, cubic capacity, lighting, ventilation, sanitary installations and general health conditions.
Now, we all know that prisons throughout South Africa are grossly overcrowded. These regulations were promulgated in 2004 and they provide certain minimum standards for building and accommodation. In two replies to me, the Minister admitted that only 22 facilities of the 241 that DCS manages actually conform to the regulations. So, the plea that I would make is that we look very carefully at what we put in the Act to make sure that the state itself can comply with the conditions that are contained in the Act. It is hopeless if we have an Act in place and the state itself is unable to comply with those provisions.
That is why I am very pleased that the Bill contains a provision requiring the national commissioner to provide a compliance report ... Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]