Thank you, Chairperson. Deputy Minister of Correctional Services, chairperson and members of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, hon members, National Commissioner of Correctional Services and senior management of the department, Judge Vuka Tshabalala, our Inspecting Judge, Judge Siraj Desai, the chairperson of the National Council on Correctional Services and members of that council, members of the Medical Parole Advisory Board, members of the Audit Committee, our entire Department of Correctional Services personnel, ladies and gentlemen, as I deliver this introduction to the Budget Vote debate, allow me to pay homage to one of the members of our portfolio committee, our comrade, sister and a mother to us, uMama u-Florence Nyanda, who passed away on 6 May 2012. May her soul rest in peace.
At the time of my appointment and our first Budget Vote in 2009, I gave the undertaking to continue with the work of transforming the department, with a view to making it an integral part of the integrated criminal justice system and the value chain in the fight against crime and criminality. In order to do this we committed ourselves to a plan to address both the policy and the operational challenges that inhibited the department's ability to implement both the White Paper and the Correctional Services Act of 1998.
It remains our position that the department should not simply view its mandate solely in terms of incarceration and accommodating offenders. Its work should be viewed within the context of being part of the government's efforts to ensure public safety. In order to do so, the work of the department should deliver on the policy objectives of the new system espoused in the White Paper.
As we pass the midterm point of this administration, this Budget Vote debate should review the extent to which we have made progress in regard to this commitment and clearly define what is required to be done in the remaining half of this term.
Over the period under review, we have focused our work on improving departmental administration, embedding transformation initiatives in the fabric of the department and ensuring compliance with the Constitution, the White Paper on Corrections and its policy, and the law. Our focus as a department is on delivering our services with greater efficiency and consistency, the appropriate work ethic and managerial expertise.
Our report to you is that the department is undergoing a fundamental process of change. Previously we committed ourselves to implementing various quick-win interventions aimed at addressing the key challenges and the creation of an environment conducive to the effective delivery of rehabilitation programmes at our centres. As our report card will indicate, these quick-wins are becoming key drivers of our programme of transformation.
We are finally succeeding in ensuring that the department operates differently in pursuance of the objectives of the White Paper. The work of the department in the previous three years has increasingly focused on the improvement of our core business, focusing on offenders and effective rehabilitation.
Regarding overcrowding, we have always believed that overcrowding impacts on the ability of the department to provide effective rehabilitation. It is for this reason that we committed ourselves last year to dealing with the problem of overcrowding in a sustained and integrated manner. We are here to report to you that we are succeeding in this regard.
The department is currently implementing a pilot project for the electronic monitoring of certain categories of inmates placed on parole. This project started only on 14 February and reached a milestone yesterday, when the 106th participant was tagged here in Cape Town. It is our view that the pilot project has been a resounding success, and that it is time to extend electronic monitoring to other categories of inmate, including offenders still serving custodial sentences in our centres. It is our plan that this roll-out should be finalised in this financial year.
It is also our intention to bring before the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster proposals on the consideration of the use of electronic monitoring as part of alternative sentencing for minor offences. This will ensure that only those who have committed serious offences serve a custodial sentence.
On 27 April, as part of the celebration of 18 years of our freedom and 16 years of our constitutional democracy, the President announced the granting of a special remission of sentence for certain categories of offenders, including parolees and probationers. The granting of a special remission of sentence is in line with the provisions of our Constitution and international practice, where remission of sentence may be granted as part of the recognition of key events in the life of a country.
In deciding to grant this current remission, which is the first during this administration, the cluster has taken care to ensure that those offenders who pose a serious risk to society, particularly those declared to be dangerous criminals, are completely excluded from remission. The department has put in place a dedicated operational plan and the capacity to manage the impact of the remission process.
In regard to the effective management of remand detention, after the promulgation of the Correctional Matters Amendment Act, the department moved with speed to put in place the plan to operationalise the implementation of the new Act. Since then the department has established a fully fledged branch for remand detention. A total of 23 distinct centres for remand detainees have now been approved and established.
Regarding halfway houses, as per our undertaking in the previous budget, we opened the first state-funded halfway house in February this year. We had identified the real need to prepare offenders to function normally in society after their release by creating a bridge that could help them adjust to the movement from incarceration to reintegration. We need to ensure that the confusion caused by this transition is not so detrimental that it drives them to the point of wishing to return to a correctional facility, or forces them to reoffend.
As we indicated last year, this halfway house is currently housing juveniles who initially could not be released as a result of the lack of a support system and identifiable physical addresses. The next category of offenders who will benefit from the establishment of halfway houses will be women.
In fact, today we have in our midst two sets of very special invited guests whose circumstances clearly demonstrate the importance of our all viewing rehabilitation as a societal responsibility. I must thank Ms Simone Roets indeed for allowing us to share her story with the South African public, in the hope that through this we can all come to truly appreciate the role that society plays in both breeding offender behaviour and supporting the sustainability of rehabilitation once the offender has been released and reintegrated. Ms Simone Roets is here with us this afternoon. Where is she? [Applause.]
The long and short of her story is that, after suffering sexual abuse from the age of five, she finally began a life on the streets and became a sex worker at the age of 14. Needless to say, this life involved the use of drugs and the abuse of alcohol, and she was surrounded by violence and physical abuse on a daily basis. At the age of 18, she had an altercation with a client in which she killed him.
We placed her on day parole because we felt that she was in a category that required daily monitoring. Simone had been given a life sentence. I released Simone in April last year, following the Van Vuuren ruling. [Applause.]
However, what we did not take full cognisance of was the shock therapy that we were submitting her to by thrusting her into a society where she had lost touch with family and friends. She had never worked in all her life and had not been exposed to life on the outside since she was 18. Ms Simone Roets served a total of 21 years. This situation made her feel as if she was not part of that society. Eventually, she absconded. She returned to a life of alcohol abuse and had to be rearrested.
We need to talk about the story of what happened to Ms Roets because that helps us deal with the question of what role society should play in supporting those who have committed crime but are now deemed ready for social reintegration.
We also need to accept that crime and criminality are entirely about failure in society, not a direct consequence of failure in a system of correction. Preventing a life of criminality begins with the family unit, the social fibre and the opportunities for growth that our children have access to.
When we were visiting the Groot Drakenstein facility, I was concerned to learn of the presence of young offenders under the age of 18. Upon further enquiry, we learnt that these children, who should normally not be in our facility, had committed serious crimes. These ranged from murder to rape and theft. We invited these young people to join us in the gallery today. Sometimes when we talk about these things people think we are exaggerating. Where are they? Where are the young boys? [Applause.] All right, boys.
The fact that these children, as young as 17 years of age, have committed these serious crimes should make society question where we have all failed in protecting our children from a life of crime. Together with Ms Roets, these young people are only a small part of a bigger problem that society should be dealing with.
Regarding the protection of vulnerable groups, it gives me great pleasure and a deep sense of pride to report that we succeeded last year in piloting key projects aimed at enhancing rehabilitation work, particularly in relation to vulnerable groups within our offender population.
In August last year, we opened the first, new-generation mother-and-baby units for women who are serving sentences and have young babies under the age of two. The purpose of these units is to allow the child as close to normal an existence as possible, even if such an existence is under the conditions of the incarceration of the mother. These centres are currently operational in Pollsmoor, Durban Westville and Johannesburg.
Regarding youth dialogue, we have once again increased the number of youth centres participating in youth dialogues. Here parents are encouraged to visit their children and interact with them in the centres through a facilitated dialogue. During the previous year, we held these dialogues in 10 youth centres across the country.
Regarding the policy on medical parole, after the promulgation of the Correctional Matters Amendment Act, the new medical parole policy came into effect on 1 March 2012. We have, in accordance with the new policy, appointed the Medical Parole Advisory Board, chaired by Dr Victor Ramathesele. That board is here with us this afternoon. [Applause.]
This is an independent panel of medical experts that considers and decides on all medical aspects in applications for placement on parole based on medical grounds. Only after their input may a parole board consider such an application and decide on it in terms of the broader criteria for placement on parole. It is estimated that there are potentially 298 inmates in our facilities who can be considered for medical parole under the new policy framework.
After conducting the review of the provision of new facilities through the public-private partnership model, we took a decision to cancel the procurement process in October 2011, as anticipated. The cancellation of the current procurement process does not exclude the future building of additional correctional facilities.
The building and maintenance of correctional facilities may still be best provided by third parties, but such a decision can only be taken once the DCS has pronounced on its long-term demand for facilities in relation to both the optimal size for inmate type and location. It is our view that the issue of the size of our centres should be based on requirements, as opposed to the initial proposal that the new facilities should have a 3 000- bed capacity across the board. We recently concluded a process of consultative engagement with the construction industry to discuss further plans with regard to infrastructure roll-out. In line with the space requirements submitted by the regions, the following are approved for construction this year: two facilities of 500-bed capacity in Limpopo, two facilities of 500-bed capacity in the Eastern Cape and one 500-bed-capacity centre for the Western Cape, as well as a 1 000-bed-capacity centre in Kwazulu-Natal. Construction on the total of six centres will be initiated by the end of this financial year. An additional 12 centres of between 500 and 1 500-bed capacity will be constructed in the outer years. Consultation is ongoing with National Treasury and Public Works, both at departmental and ministerial level, on the way forward in implementing these projects.
I am concerned that our target for 2012-13 remains as low as 30% of sentenced offenders with correctional sentence plans completing correctional programmes. This is an area that the department must improve on. It is important that focus is now placed on completion of such programmes and not simply on participation, which is the case now.
The interim case management committee structures are now established in all centres, in accordance with section 42 of the Correctional Services Act. On 26 March 2012, we held a national work session for parole boards and case management committees in the Pretoria management area to improve the effective functioning of both.
The department aims to improve the development of needs-based assessments of offenders to improve the quality of the sentence plans. The law requires that correctional sentence plans are implemented for all offenders with a sentence of 24 months and more. Approximately 80% of offenders with sentences of 24 months and more currently have sentence plans. Most new admissions with a sentence of 24 months and more are profiled within 21 days, as required by the Act. Of course, this area remains a big challenge for us.
The issue of the rehabilitation of short-term offenders is a complex one and requires the attention of the cluster. We have already identified appropriate centres for the accommodation of short-term offenders separate from long-term offenders. We are concerned about the proverbial revolving door among short-term offenders. Hence, I have issued a directive that the department reviews the rehabilitation path of such offenders.
Since last year a National Framework on Offender Labour has been developed, consulted on, approved and disseminated to regions for implementation. It is our plan that this new framework will help increase the number of offenders who participate in offender labour and skills development programmes.
The department is in the process of evaluating the current technology security systems, which include access control systems, surveillance, alarms and fencing, to ensure alignment with the security challenges and technology strategy of the department. This process will direct the management, maintenance and upgrading of existing systems, as well as the implementation of new systems.
A contract has been awarded for the installation of security fences with CCTV cameras and detection systems at 27 correctional facilities. We are also in the process of procuring a service provider for the upgrading, maintenance and management of the existing access control systems of the department. The access control and fencing virtual private network, which was run and controlled by external service providers, has been taken over by the department.
Body scanners will be installed in 20 priority facilities, after which a further roll-out will be considered in this financial year.
A skills development framework for security personnel, including our emergency support teams, was approved, and a Safety and Security Sector Education and Training Authority, or SASSETA-accredited training curriculum for the emergency support teams is being developed. The current security policy procedures of the department have been revised and aligned to the minimum security standards of government. We are encouraged by the report that we are succeeding in the down management of escapes, from a total of 106 during the 2010-11 financial year to 41 during 2011-12. We should not have any escapes. However, this is where we are. We have also identified the number of facilities with a high risk of gang activity.
As hon members may be aware, we recently had the opportunity to introduce members of the National Council for Correctional Services to the portfolio committee. I am glad to announce that Judge Desai has once again agreed to serve as chairperson of the NCCS, after we accepted the resignation of the former chairperson, Judge Ndita, who had to resign for personal reasons.
Following the Van Vuuren ruling of the Constitutional Court, I considered for placement on parole all 368 lifers who were affected by this decision.
I am also happy to announce that Judge Vuka Tshabalala has been appointed as our new Inspecting Judge, with effect from 1 November 2011. [Applause.] In line with the legislative amendments that came into effect in 2009, a chief executive officer has also been appointed for the Office of the Inspecting Judge.
The Gallows Restoration Project, based in the Pretoria management area, aims to contribute to nation-building and recording the impact of the violent and inhumane policy of capital punishment - a part of our history that shall never be repeated in our beloved country. Phase 1 of this project was completed last year. It involved the reconstruction of the gallows, which had been dismantled in the mid-90s. The restored gallows were officially opened by President Jacob Zuma on 15 December 2011. We believe that through this museum many of our people, including the younger generation, will come to terms with this aspect of our history and dedicate themselves to ensuring that we will never return to such an era.
My concern as a woman and a gender activist has been the skills that women offenders are given while in our facilities. It was for this reason that we launched a pilot project for the production of sanitary towels, called the Sanitary Dignity Campaign. The project is currently being piloted in the East London Female Correctional Centre and involves 10 female offenders in maximum security and three officials. We have rolled out two more machines, one in Durban Westville and another one in Limpopo.
While the project will make a significant contribution to the skilling of offenders, it will also assist in the provision of sanitary towels to young women in rural areas in the proximity of the centres and, of course, this will be free of charge. [Applause.] This is our small contribution, and we are also ploughing back into our society.
The department has entered into partnerships with the private sector and NGOs to educate and skill our offenders in preparation for their reintegration into society. We are particularly thrilled, in our partnership with the Department of Communications, to offer an e-literacy programme to young offenders between the ages of 14 and 35.
Utilising internal resources, the department has embarked on a project to establish computer-based training centres at youth and adult centres. Offender involvement in skills development programmes and in vocational and skills training programmes in production workshops and on agricultural farms is an area of work that needs some refining.
Since my appointment I have been acutely aware of the anomalies in the structure of the Department of Correctional Services and have consistently engaged with management in relation to amending the structure. I have now approved the high-level structure of the department, which will fundamentally transform the manner in which the DCS provides service delivery.
The span of command of the national commissioner has been rationalised to eight direct reports, as opposed to the unmanageable 17 direct reports that he has had. We have established the post of chief operating officer. This person who will report directly to the national commissioner, while six regional commissioners will report to him or her. The following managers will also be reporting directly to the chief operating officer: the chief security officer, the head of facilities, the Deputy Commissioner: Operations Support, and the head of litigation. Also reporting directly to the national commissioner are the head of strategic management, the chief financial officer, the head of human resources, the chief audit executive and the government information technology officer.
Finally, in line with the logic of the mandate of Correctional Services, we have established three core business branches: Remand Detention, Correctional Incarceration and Community Corrections. The restructuring of the core business branches is in line with the Cabinet decision in relation to Remand Detention. It combines the functions currently carried out in Personal Corrections and in Development and Care, and lifts Community Corrections to a fully fledged branch. In particular, the creation of the Correctional Incarceration Branch is fundamental to the ability of the DCS to focus on the sound development of correctional sentence plans.
In this regard I am glad to announce that we have a full complement of chief deputy commissioners and regional commissioners appointed in terms of the new structure, and that we do not have anybody in an acting capacity at that level. [Applause.]
Following various discussions on matters relating to employment equity raised in the Western Cape region, I decided to appoint a team, led by Adv Ntsebeza, to investigate and report back to me on the matter. Once I have received these findings and recommendations, I will be able to pronounce on the position of the department going forward.
As we promised last year, the Gito branch is now headed at CDC level - that would be at deputy director-general level in other departments - and is in the process of being capacitated. The department has significantly reduced the number of consultants working in IT, from 156 at the end of the 2010-11 financial year to about 45 consultants at the end of 2011-12. [Applause.] The consultants are being replaced by appointees filling permanent IT technical posts. I am also pleased to announce that delivery on the strategy that we have developed to turn around the IT systems of DCS has started.