Thank you very much. Honourable Deputy Speaker, baie dankie [thank you very much]. [Laughter.]
Honourable Deputy Speaker and hon members, as I said during the ministerial responses on Tuesday, about 80 to 90 offenders during the past week benefited from the implementation of section 44 of the Correctional Services Act and departmental regulations, chapter 5(3)(f) and (4)(dd) to (ee). These offenders' date for placement under correctional supervision has been determined by the independent correctional supervision and parole boards.
In terms of this legislation and regulations, a qualifying offender gets released at 11h00 on Friday morning under conditions determined by the area commissioner as an operational matter, and returns to the centre at 15h00 on Sunday.
These concessions are implemented only twice during the last six months of an offender's incarceration, with a minimum of three months in between the two weekend passes, so any offender who benefited from a weekend pass this past weekend will not benefit for at least three months. Generally, hundreds of offenders benefit from these concessions each year.
Given that offender Tony Yengeni had served one sixth of his sentence, and therefore qualifies for placement under correctional supervision after 13 January 2007 in line with section 276(1) of the Criminal Procedures Act, there will be no other weekend pass for him. He has already appeared before the correctional supervision and parole board on 20 October, which confirmed the recommendations of the case management committee for correctional supervision.
I've taken serious note of the allegations of the violation of the weekend pass or parole conditions by offender Tony Yengeni and subsequently wish to announce in this House that in view of the allegations that offender Tony Yengeni violated his parole conditions during the past weekend parole, we have, as the department, instituted the following interim measures: one, that, pending the investigation of these allegations, Tony Yengeni will forfeit all privileges related to visitations by his spouse, children and any other close associates for a period of two weeks whilst the investigation is continuing; two, that he will also forfeit the privilege of using the telephone to communicate with family, friends and colleagues for the same duration as stated or alluded to above.
Hon members, it should be noted that this is not a punitive measure, but conditions that will ensure the investigation is not hindered. After the finalisation of the investigation the recommendations made from the probe will be considered and appropriate steps or action will be implemented.
The department deplores and condemns any breach of parole conditions by any offender, and would ensure that parole conditions are respected and observed at all times by every offender and by every family member. There is one policy regarding the conduct and treatment of all offenders in this department, and this has to be enforced and respected, and its integrity protected at all times. These are measures that the ANC government has put in place as a way of moving away from a punitive system to this new rehabilitative and corrective system.
I therefore appeal once again to members of this House and the public at large to respect these remedial and interim measures. We shall not tolerate any deviation from or breach of these conditions at any given stage. Let us therefore allow the due processes to be followed with regard to this matter and let offender Yengeni serve the last months of his sentence without any more public pressure exerted on him or any of my officials.
I'm appealing to relatives and family members of offenders, as well as close friends and associates, to assist offenders inside and outside our facilities to adhere to all regulations stipulated by the Department of Correctional Services. Madam hon Deputy Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity. [Applause.]