Madam Deputy Speaker, there are existing channels to deal with grievances, and if grievances are not attended to by prison authorities, complaints can be laid with the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services. The ACDP therefore believes that it is unacceptable that prison warders should be held hostage and that prison facilities be set alight. This can never be justified. Quite rightly the Police Force was called in to contain the riot and to secure the release of hostages.
The question arises who prisoners obtained a cigarette lighter from. Was this indeed smuggled into the prison by a warder, as alleged in the media? The issue of warders colluding with prisoners to obtain contraband goods for payment remains a very serious problem, as admitted by the Minister, and must be addressed.
The ACDP looks forward to the findings of the internal investigation and trusts that the Ministry and the department will take all steps necessary to ensure that such lawlessness and riotous behaviour do not occur again in any of our facilities. We can be thankful that the riot was contained quickly and that there was no serious injury or loss of life in what was a very serious and life-threatening situation. Clearly one needs to look into management and prison classification issues, as alluded to by the hon Fritz. I thank you.