Chairperson, first of all, let me take this opportunity to thank the chair of this committee for his commitment and his leadership, as well as ensuring that we conduct our business in a very, very good spirit in order to achieve our ultimate goal.
The Department of Correctional Services is the dead end in the criminal justice system. You come in and stop at the Department of Correctional Services; you either die or you go back into the community. Therefore, the mission of the Department of Correctional Services is "to contribute, to maintain and to protect a just, peaceful and safe society." It's a bold statement.
I would like to agree with other speakers that rehabilitation is a huge challenge. We cannot become excited about the few people who have been rehabilitated. Rehabilitation needs more than the Department of Correctional Services alone; it needs all the departments to contribute, as well as the community at large, to make it successful.
Hon Minister, I must say that I, and the DA, disagree with you with regard to the changing of names of correctional service centres. There's no proof that the change of names will increase rehabilitation or make prisoners or inmates better people. In my and the DA's view that is a waste of taxpayers' money, and it's going to be a useless exercise.
To make a real impact in crime fighting and crime prevention, proper management and leadership in the Department of Correctional Services are as important as in the rest of the criminal justice system department; it's crucial.
About two weeks ago we saw that General Cele and the police came to the portfolio committee without targets. You can imagine coming to this House with a plan, but not knowing how to measure yourself. The problem is that he came back again and said that those targets are from the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security, JCPS, cluster. Hon Minister, my understanding is that the Department of Correctional Services' targets are based on your baselines which you achieved previously. Is it correct that your targets are perhaps also targets from the JCPS? I would like to hear that.
Is there synergy between the departments in achieving the targets? Police want to reduce crime, so they arrest. On the other hand the Department of Correctional Services wants to decrease inmates; this means that there is conflict. Where is the synergy between the two? Does the department have the capacity and the skills to deal with this influx and the movement of inmates?
Hon Minister, for you and the Department of Correctional Services to be successful and to fulfil those promises you need to ensure that you appoint the right people for the job. The most important resource in any department in government is its human beings; people.
Discipline is also critical in the Department of Correctional Services. Last year's annual report indicates that regional commissioners didn't even respond to instructions from the head office. If that is going to be allowed, you can close shop. Discipline is essential and it comes from the top.
You might ask me who the right people to be appointed are. So, let me tell you who they are. They are those people who have job-related knowledge and experience, whether operational or in support services. They are people who came through the ranks, who are apolitical and committed to service delivery to the people. The right people cannot be appointed on a quota system based on race. The only criteria should be merit. None of us can complain after 16 years of democracy that merit is unfair. We all have equal opportunity.
When I joined the police, there was a standing order which stated that the highest rank nonwhites could be promoted to was lieutenant and the whites remained senior. We thought that was gone; now we find that it still exists - it is in effect in this democracy of ours. We could understand when it was apartheid. Let us all feel, regardless of race, that we belong and we are here to make a contribution to make South Africa a better place for all.
The question is: How many of the top management know exactly how to manage a correctional centre? How many of the top management at the police know how to manage a police station and how to relate to the issues of importance? Let me tell you that this department received qualified audit reports for seven consecutive years and it will continue if you don't promote and appoint the right people in the right places.
The Rapport of 24 October last year indicated that whites and coloureds have reached their level; that is totally wrong. The definition of madness is here in the Rapport and I would like your response on that. The definition of madness is, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. Martin Luther King once said: "You cannot help birds flying over your head, but you can prevent them making a nest in your hair." Therefore, I would like to say, hon Minister, that poor performance is intolerable. It cannot be accepted. People can be fired, not only for corruption, but also for nonperformance. For that reason we need a political direction; political will and the right political intervention.
There's a difference between political intervention and political interference. A good example of political intervention is when the DA took over the Western Cape and the City of Cape Town after the ANC. That is political intervention. Political interference is Sondolo and Bosasa in this department. Let me tell you, hon Minister, that there's a saying that if you keep a snake you can expect that that snake will bite you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]