Deputy Speaker, hon members, first allow me to once more extend my condolences, and those of government, to the family of our late former Deputy Minister, Comrade Cheryl Gillwald, a former member of the House and a dedicated servant of our people, who served with distinction and selflessness. We fittingly pay tribute to her, particularly at this time when our country observes the national Women's Month. This is in recognition of her role in the struggle for the empowerment of women and her sterling work in the leadership of the campaign for the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. May her soul rest in peace.
We thank the National Assembly, the parties and presiding officers for granting us our request to make a statement in this House relating to the reported incident of violence at our new correctional centre in Kimberley last week. Normally, we would not have brought this matter before the House here, but given some of the media reports relating to the level of severity of the violence, we thought it necessary to set the record straight - provide clarity on the actual events, the response of government and further actions to be taken in this regard. I also wanted to use this opportunity to re-emphasise matters of policy relating to some of the issues that gave rise to dissatisfaction amongst offenders.
I was in China on 30 August when I received a report that some of the inmates in the K11 unit of our Kimberley Correctional Centre were rioting and had taken officials hostage at the centre. This was as a result of complaints they had raised about the fact that they felt that management at centre level was not paying attention to their grievances.
From the preliminary reports that were received, the following were their grievances, and I will deal with the context of each one of these later: Firstly, the main grievance is about transfers and the fact that offenders are far away from their families; secondly, they complain about the provision of medical care; and thirdly, they complain about a shortage of materials provided for development of skills and training.
Before dealing with these issues, let me indicate that about a month prior to this incident, on 29 June, the Deputy Minister, the National Commissioner and I visited the Kimberley Correctional Centre as part of our scheduled visits to regions. During this visit, some of the offenders raised those and other concerns. The concerns were responded to and action has been taken to address some of them.
Firstly, it has to be noted that because it is a new centre, only commissioned in March this year, operations at the Kimberley facility are being implemented through a phased-in approach that is ramping it up to full capacity. Currently the facility has occupancy of 2 543 inmates, and its full capacity is supposed to be 3 000. Most of the offenders have been transferred from other regions to alleviate overcrowding.
Secondly, the facility has been designed and designated as a medium security facility. However, we received reports in June this year that due to overcrowding in some of our larger centres, some of our regions have been transferring some maximum security offenders to this centre, and some of these offenders were being irregularly reclassified.
On the grievances, first starting with the transfers, I have on several occasions indicated that it will not be possible for us to consider applications for transfers based on the reason that an offender is far away from their home and family. If we were to do this, it would make it difficult for us to manage overcrowding in all of our centres.
This does not suggest that the department does not apply a policy of transfers. Such applications are considered on merit, but what we are certainly weary of are situations where the only reason given is that of distance from an offender's family. I have, however, already directed that the department make arrangements to assist families to visit offenders, either on a monthly or quarterly basis, depending on the necessary economics and availability of funds.
After our visit we had directed that, in the meantime, telephone booths should be installed in all units of the centre. This has been done, although they have now been damaged, at least in the unit where the rioting took place.
On the issue of medical care, during our visit we had directed that the process of the filling of medical care vacancies be fast-tracked and finalised. At the time of the visit, nine general nursing and 15 clinical posts had already been advertised and were in the process of being finalised.
You have heard that there's a complaint about workshops and the development of skills. Procurement of material for the workshop has also been prioritised and will be delivered to the centre.
Lastly, let me indicate that it is true that during the riots there has been burning of mattresses and other equipment in unit K13. This has resulted in some officials and offenders requiring treatment for smoke inhalation. However, I want to make it clear that no offender or official died during the riots, as has been erroneously reported in the media. Fortunately the riots also coincided with the scheduled visit by the portfolio committee of this department. The situation at the centre returned to normal two hours after the start of the incident and has remained calm ever since. We have, however, continued to monitor the process closely.
I want to take the opportunity and thank members of the portfolio committee for the oversight visit at that critical moment, for their support but also for their refusal to interact with the group of inmates who were involved in leading this rebellion.
I must also report that investigation into the conduct of both offenders and officials continue. Our investigation covers all suspected causes of these incidents, including incitement and collusion. We continue to be faced with serious levels of ill discipline amongst officials, leading to collusion with offenders in the destabilisation of the department. During the past few months we've also shown decisiveness in dealing with cases of ill discipline and flagrant disregard for protocols and procedures. We have dispatched a team from the head office to handle the transfer of more experienced officials from other centres to the Kimberley Correctional Centre, as most of the officials there are still new and directly from the training college.
It is my hope that this account that we have given before the House will clarify the understanding of the members and the South African public about what exactly transpired at the centre. I also want to take the opportunity to thank the correctional officers who have declared, for now, that they will not be part of the strike that is currently going on in the country. Thank you very much. [Applause.]