Department Budget and Strategic Plan: adoption

Meeting report

CORRECTIONAL SERVICES PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
4 April 2005
DEPARTMENT BUDGET AND STRATEGIC PLAN: ADOPTION

Chairperson:

Department PowerPoint presentation: Original budget cost drivers per region
Department Excel spreadsheet: Breakdown of Head Office budget

SUMMARY
The Department of Correctional Services had prepared a presentation addressing issues that had been identified by Members during the previous budget discussion. The delegation presented a level of detail that had not been possible due to time constraints during that meeting. These included a breakdown of the Head Office budget, a detailed explanation of the Department’s vehicle fleet and other assets, an explanation of overtime savings, and the plan for reducing incapacity and sick leave abuses. The Department also provided an explanation on its antiretroviral policy.

Minister Balfour also described the details of the agreement that had been reached with the sector unions and assured the Committee of his support.

MINUTES

Minister’s briefing on POPCRU agreement
Minister Balfour said that the work of the Joint Technical Committee comprising of the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) and the Department had been fruitful. An agreement had been signed on Thursday 31 March 2005. The issues of medical aid, the fact that Correctional Services was an ‘essential service’ that should work seven days, and the use of insignia had been agreed. It had also been agreed that the recruitment of additional staffmembers was necessary and that discipline was crucial. Minister Balfour said he was satisfied with the agreement.

Department briefing on outstanding issues
Commissioner Mti thanked Members for attending the launch of the White Paper. The launch of the White Paper and the agreement of the unions had created positive momentum that hopefully would be sustained. The Chairperson clarified that the invitation to attend the launch of the White Paper had not been extended to all Members as it had only reached the Chairperson quite late. He apologised for this.

Mr P Gillingham, Department Chief Financial Officer, said he would ‘disect’ the budget of Head Office, which amounted to 42% of the budget. The money allocated for ‘management’ was intended for the budget of the Inspecting Judge and other commissions. The funds held at Head Office for vacant posts could not be allocated to the regions as these posts had not yet been filled. Funds for the purchase of uniforms and computer equipment would be handled centrally as bulk purchases led to cost advantages. R558 million had been set aside for monthly payments for private prisons. He concluded that only 8% of the 42% of funds held at Head Office would be spent at that office.

Mr Gillingham explained that 98% of the Department’s assets had been captured on the bar-coded asset register system. Some 2 880 vehicles had been registered and allocated to the various management areas. These 48 areas were responsible for the vehicles allocated. The vehicles were controlled by the ‘e-fuel and trip management’ sheets system. The Department agreed that the control over these vehicles had not been perfect and that the Auditor-General had looked into this matter on the Departments request. The Department awaited the Auditor-General’s suggestions for a better system.

Chief Deputy-Commissioner of Corporate Services, Mr V Petersen, presented that the budget for overtime was R702.1 million for a seven-day establishment, as opposed to R1.2 billion if this migration had not taken place. Important projects had been put on hold due to huge overtime expenses. The savings on overtime with the seven-day establishment had made these projects possible. Many vacant posts would also now be filled.

Mr J Selfe (DA) asked why the recruitment of additional staff was dependent on receiving additional funds from Treasury.

Mr Petersen answered that the additional staff and the implementation of a seven-day establishment had released funds that had been used for overtime at the expense of other projects. Overtime savings would not initially be available as projects that had been neglected to fund overtime, would need to be started. Past imbalances would have to be rectified. Retention strategies had suffered in the past.

Mr Petersen said the abuse of incapacity and sick leave had been a major problem. A pilot project to combat these abuses had been initiated and statistics had shown a high success rate.

Minister Balfour commented that the Department would have to attract more medical professionals. Although he was pleased with the progress made in reducing the abuse of leave, improvements were still required.

Chief Deputy Commissioner J Sishuba; Head of Development and Care, stated that the Department’s policies were aligned with the White Paper. Cabinet had decided that Correctional Services was not considered within the public health sector, and therefore correctional centres would not be accredited as centres for providing antiretroviral treatment. Inmates who required such treatment would be referred to the district health system. The Department of Health had been most helpful in this regard. Other healthcare was available 24 hours a day in prisons. Where the Department’s nursing staff lacked the capacity to treat inmates, public hospitals would be utilised. Ideally, Correctional Services would prefer to use their own doctors. However, the Department had found it difficult to attract these professionals. Most of the nursing staff had been trained in primary healthcare, and the rest would soon receive such ongoing training. The Department was moving towards the accreditation of all training programmes in correctional facilities.

Commissioner Mti stated that even through the Department had advertised doctors’ posts at Deputy Director Level, only one application had been received.

Mr Selfe commented that as the country’s number of mental health facilities had been reduced, increased numbers of mentally ill people ended up in prison.

The Committee then adopted the Department budget report.

The meeting was adjourned.