Madam Speaker, we have two very serious problems in our country. Firstly, as the chairperson of the portfolio committee has correctly pointed out, there is a serious lack of capacity and competency on the part of the Department of Correctional Services staff at the new Kimberley correctional facility. As elsewhere in the Public Service, incompetency becomes the mother of all problems and destructive behaviour.
To us in Cope, it is very clear that we need to look at the incompetency of staff as the starting point of the unacceptable behaviour of inmates. Lack of respect for officials set into motion a whole chain of unfortunate and even tragic actions and reactions. The Minister and the department must seriously address this incompetency problem as a principle problem. The portfolio committee accepts that it is so, and so does everyone else.
The second problem relates to a widespread culture of vandalism that prevails in the South African society. Wherever there are protests - legitimate protests - they degenerate into wanton vandalism. It is not only with the inmates at Kimberley; it is a South African phenomenon.
While there seems to be an acceptance that inmates were frustrated, the holding of six officials as hostages and the burning of some of the units at the new facility on Tuesday afternoon are totally unacceptable. Government has to actively solicit the support of all communities to ensure that this culture of vandalism, lawlessness and hooliganism end.
An assurance from government that it has the capacity to listen to people's grievances and act on them will go a long way in curbing this behaviour. Thank you. [Time expired.]