Ministerial Briefing and Department’s Annual Report 2006/07 briefing

CORRECTIONAL SERVICES PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
30 October 2007
MINISTERIAL BRIEFING AND DEPARTMENT’S ANNUAL REPORT 2006/07 BRIEFING

Chairperson: Mr D Bloem (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Department of Correctional Services Annual Report for the 2006/07 Financial Year.
Department of Correctional Services Presentation to the Portfolio Committee.

Audio recording of meeting

SUMMARY
The Minister and Department of Correctional Services briefed the Committee on the Annual Report. The Minister noted that the Department worked in a challenging environment, and thanked the Department for the commendable work they had done. He stated that one of the major concerns had been the appointment of a Chief Financial Officer, but he was pleased to announce that a CFO had now been appointed and further appointments were made to enhance the audit functions of the Department.

The Department noted several improvements in the last year, based on invaluable input from the Committee. Several issues raised as qualifications by the Auditor General in the previous year had been rectified and no longer appeared as qualifications. Although there were other qualifications, in regard to asset management, medical expenditure, receivables, recovery of debts from staff debtors and accruals, these were under the control of the Department and would be remedied. One of the major challenges noted by the Members was that of lack of an asset register. Other challenges identified by the Department were violent and daring escapes, procurement of remand detention facilities, the corruption and collusion between inmates and officials and the overcrowding of correctional facilities by persons awaiting trial.
The financial statements were tabled, showing 944.1% expenditure of the allocated amounts, and approval had been given for a rollover in respect of the Kimberley Correctional Centre, but rollover for other amounts was refused and would be surrendered.

Members raised questions on the contingent liabilities, claims made against the Minister by inmates, reliability of the information in the Annual Report, asset management, the fact that the Department had not met the target of reducing vacancy levels to 5%, retention strategies, where appointments were being made, the long periods of investigation for allegations of corruption against staff members, and the fact that they were paid during the investigating suspension period, the gender balance at management level, the functioning of the parole boards, and whether proper training was being given at sites approved for anti-retroviral medication.

MINUTES
Briefing by the Minister, and Annual Report Briefing by Department of Correctional Services (DCS) of the Annual Report 2006/07
The Minister of Correctional Services, Hon Ngconde Balfour, thanked the Committee for its critical analysis of the services provided by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). He noted that their input had helped the Department improve its provision of services. One of the areas of concerns had been the appointment of a Chief Financial Officer, and he was pleased to announce that Ms Nadira Singh had been appointed to the position, through the intervention of the Auditor General, and he was confident that she was highly qualified for the position. He noted that a new person was also appointed within the Department to strengthen its internal audit function.

The Minister commented that the Department worked in a challenging and difficult environment but that its successes in the last year were commendable. He stated that there was need for unity in the Department to ensure harmonisation of provision of services. He was of the view that the Annual Report now before the committee was an improvement on previous reports.

Commissioner Vernon Petersen, National Commissioner, Correctional Services, noted that he was not the Accounting Officer in the year now being reported upon. He acknowledged the work undertaken by Ms Jabu Sishuba, who was the Acting National Commissioner during the financial year. He additionally acknowledged her efforts to ensure the smooth running of the development and care of the Department by running various projects, such as the Policy Development Processes and Instrument Measures. He stated that Ms Sishuba was retiring from the Department, but that the Department would consult her in future on various issues. He also acknowledged the pioneering work of Commissioner Linda Mti, who had revamped the department through the implementation of the White Paper. He further paid tribute to the late Siyabulela Mlombile, whose contributed to the Department was invaluable.

Comm Petersen pointed out that the Annual Report had attempted to be quite frank, and had given exposure to the Department’s weaknesses. He stated that some of the difficulties faced in the whole process of reporting resulted from the planning cycle. The Department’s planning was done at the head office. The same plan was used to implement policies at the local level. This was not always ideal; there was a need to plan from the ground, leaving the head office with the mandate to report on the issues on the ground and to monitor the work of its branches. He declared that there was need to re-access the cycle. He noted that the Department had established a dedicated component under the leadership of Ms Jenny Schreiner, Deputy director: Operations and Management Support, to put a focus on the operations of the Department.

The Department was in partnership with National Treasury to ensure effective monitoring through a joint pilot project to identify much clearer indicators for measuring performance. Comm Petersen noted that the government departments’ approach to measuring outcomes rather than input did not ensure effective monitoring and that his Department was selected to run the pilot. The project incorporated the monitoring of the Department’s expenditure. He noted that the Department seemed ambitious on transformation. There was a need to focus on the critical issues.

He pointed out that there was a problem with management of prison overcrowding of persons awaiting trial. He stated that it was the responsibility of the Department of Justice to process trials of detainees efficiently. It had tried to solve the problem through a Management Remand Detention project, focusing on persons who should not be in detention for long. He stated that Department of Justice (DOJ) case flow management problems impacted on the DCS.

Comm Petersen reported on the procurement of new correctional facilities, which had been raised in a previous meeting by the Committee. He noted that the Department had received approval from Treasury for five correctional centres. The Department was in the process of seeking qualifications of bidders interested in competing. Treasury had planned to inject upfront capital to the projects. He mentioned that Kimberley facility was one of the last procurement projects, that the work was progressing quite well, and would be completed in 2009. The Department had put on hold two further developments, as instructed by the Minister. The Minister had requested a feasibility study to look at the viability of the facilities in future given their location.

Comm Petersen noted that the Department had resolved to interact more frequently on financial management and audit issues. He acknowledged the visit of the Committee to Portsmouth facility, and was pleased to receive comment, despite the fact that it had been critical. He stated that the Department was pondering on the reality that there was a need to send a strong message to criminals who committed violent crimes that they would feel the full force of the law. He stated that the Department had rehabilitated the Kokstad maximum security facility, which would be used to isolate some of these criminals. This was in line with the sentiments of the Committee on punishment of violent criminals. He concluded by noting that the Department had taken to heart the views of the Committee and others on improvement of its service.

The Chairperson acknowledged the efforts of the Department to address violent crime that was eroding the values gained after the struggle for freedom. He stated that this kind of crime should not be allowed to take away the freedom of the people of South Africa, and that the Committee would fully support the Department in its efforts.

Ms Nelisa Mareka, Deputy Director: Financial Management and Accounting, DCS, presented on the financial reports of the Department. She stated that the budgeted allocation for the year was R9, 8 billion, and that the Department had spent R9, 2 billion, which was 94.1%. The total amount unspent was R580 million. The Department had requested a rollover to the next financial year of R512, 9 million, for the Kimberley project, which was approved. The Department also requested a rollover of further amounts for operations, which was not approved. She highlighted the current state of expenditure.

Ms Mareka noted that there was some progress on the previous qualifications reported on by the Auditor General (AG) in respect of the 2005/06 financial year. Housing loan guarantees did not appear again as a qualification this year, and there was monthly monitoring of the position. Asset procurement was also not raised again as a qualification. The previous qualifications on medical expenditure were sorted out by life certificates being sent to the continuation members. For receivables, the accounting system’s functionality had been enhanced to include certain information, and the implementation of the Judge White Commission had shown progress, and was not raised as a qualification this year.
With regard to asset management, the Department had received approved to migrate to the LOGIS system. The qualifications in regard to asset management related to the lack of an asset register, but the assets occupied by the DCS were actually owned by the Department of Public Works, and the system that had been used to record the values of assets had not reflected the correct figures. The department would reconcile both book and current values of their assets. Although the Department had not met the targets with respect to fixed assets structure, this was work in progress.

She stated that one of the limitations faced by the Department was that the assets were not bar-coded, resulting in a qualification for lack of disclosure of the value. The Department was in the process of maintaining a register of assets. Intangible assets were not disclosed in 2007, but she was of the view that the Department should seek clarity from the AG as to how the items must be defined. Qualifications on medical expenditure related to issuing of life certificates without details of dependants, but this had been rectified by a re-issuing of the certificates. The Department was engaging with the Department of Home Affairs to inform it of deaths.

A qualification on receivables resulted from non-delivery of some files that had records of old debtors who still owed money. The Department was in the process of reconciling the debtors’ files, but did not have details of old members who were debtors. The AG had further highlighted non-reconciliation between the personnel system PERSAL and the BAS accounting system. The Department had reviewed its system to identify ways of recovering from debtors’ pension funds.

On accruals Ms Mareka noted that the Government was moving from a cash basis to a modified cash basis.  She stated that there was a lot of manual intervention involved and that the decentralised nature of the Department made it difficult to handle issues of accruals. She stated that the Department had requested the Auditor General to give cut-off dates for submission of accrual statements.

Discussion
The Chairperson noted that there was tremendous improvement on the Annual Report. He requested the Department to clarify the statement of contingent liabilities, with reference to the moneys that were apportioned for legal claims such as defamation, assault, and contraction of HIV/Aids.

Ms Mareka noted that the modification of the cash basis concept had changed the way of reporting. She stated that what was claimed might not be the same as what was finally owed. The contingent liability statements reflected all moneys set aside to cover claims against the Department that had been lodged by inmates but had not yet been decided on by a Court.

Minister Balfour noted that there had been articles in the press about the claims made against him by inmates. He reaffirmed the statements of Ms Mareka that most of the claims against him had not been substantiated, and that the Department had set aside contingency amounts for such claims.

The Chairperson was alarmed at the fact that unsubstantiated claims were being brought against the government, and urged the Department to ensure that such claims were dismissed.

Ms L Chikunga (ANC) asked what position Ms Mareka held at the Department. She was concerned that some Departments would instruct less senior staff to make presentations to Committee, which defeated the object of oversight over accountable accounting officers.

Comm Petersen stated that Ms Mareka was the Deputy Director of Financial Management and Accounting, and also the Chairperson of the Department’s Audit  Steering Committee,  and therefore was competent to give the report.

Programme Performance Briefing by DCS
Ms Jenny Schreiner, Deputy Director:Operations and Management Support, DCS briefed the Committee on the main performance highlights of the Department. The All African Correctional Service Association (AACSA) constitution had been finalised and the Programme of Action for the establishment of this body was concluded. 1 500 learners were given the opportunity to receive experiential training from January 2007. The number of sites accredited to provide Anti-Retroviral (ARV) medication was increased. A comprehensive framework and policy on social reintegration was developed, and the Corrections Week was launched.

Under the programme of Administration, the Department had developed and launched an integrated human resource strategy, developed a new communication strategy, formulated 21 policies aligned to the white paper and completed and received approval for the Master Information Systems Plan. The Department achieved accelerated recruitment and had developed partnerships with civil society bodies such as the faith based organisations (FBOs) and the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR).

Under the programme for Security, Operation Vala was launched in December 2006 to curb seasonal, mostly violent escapes, and the number of escapes was reduced by 17%. 62 deaths were recorded in 2006/07, against a target of 29. There had been installation of fences and CCTV monitors in 47 centres, and there was progress on access control in 66 centres.

Under the Corrections Programme, the awaiting trial detainees had decreased by 8.29%, but the sentenced inmate population increased significantly to 113 366. The correctional service facilities remained overpopulated by 38.8%. There were more sentenced women but less children in custody. The Department had developed strategies to curb the overcrowding, including diversion of awaiting trial detainees in certain categories, plea bargaining, a video postponement project, and alignment of 40 courts with 22 correctional centres for this project.

In the Care Programmes, the HIV and Syphilis prevalence survey for personnel and offenders was completed, additional funding was received from the USA Government, eight sites were accredited for implementation of ARVs, a poverty alleviation policy and procedure manual was approved, and the Moral Renewal Programme was launched.

Under the Social Integration programme, 26 736 out of 51 911 submissions for parole and correctional supervision placements were approved.

The Department had commenced construction of the Kimberley Correctional Centre, and finalised the feasibility study for the construction of the Nigel and Klerksdorp correctional centres. 44 of the 94 projects under repairs and maintenance programme were completed.

Ms Schreiner concluded by noting that the main challenges faced by the Department were violent and daring escapes, procurement of remand detention facilities and the corruption and collusion between inmates and officials.

Discussion
Ms Chikunga wanted to know how reliable the information on issues like vacancy rates was. She also noted that some of the targets set for the Department by the Committee had not been met.

Comm Petersen stated that the personnel system of the Department was reliable, and there were internal monitoring mechanisms that would verify information given in the Annual report. He noted that the Department had made a tremendous improvement in the year and that some of the targets that had not been reported on were work in progress.

Ms Chikunga expressed her dissatisfaction on the issue of asset management. She stated that this had been a problem of the Department for a very long time and wanted to know exactly what the Department was doing about it.

Ms Nadira Singh, Chief Financial Officer, DCS stated that the Department had no control over the asset register as most of the property occupied in fact belonged to the Department of Public Works. The lack of bar coding was another reason raised, but the Department was in the process of recording all its assets.

Ms Chikunga noted that the Department had a target of reducing the vacancy levels to 5% but they had increased to 8%. She wanted to know the reason behind the high turnover of staff. In addition she asked whether the Department had a retention strategy.

Comm Petersen noted that some of the officials in the Department had been promoted, leaving vacancies in their original posts. In addition, during 2007 Treasury had given the Department more money to create posts, as there was need for managers and supervisors to monitor the duties of junior staff. The Department had formulated a strategy for staff retention, including making counter-offers to those who were planning to leave the Department for better offers. It had raised entry-level salaries for nurses and doctors as incentives. Finance and management staff were required to abide by the code of remuneration adopted by the Department, in line with the performance of allocated duties. 

Ms Chikunga wanted to know whether the officials appointed were posted to regional posts and rural areas, where they were desperately needed.

Comm Jabu Sishuba, Chief Deputy Commissioner, DCS, noted that the social workers were locally grounded. She stated however that one of the reasons behind the prevailing vacancy levels was that the DCS was not an attractive department, especially for women who tended to be in the majority in the social work profession.

The Chairperson noted that the Department should be given a deadline to provide an asset register

Ms W Ngwenya (ANC) noted that the report identified that officials under suspension for suspicion of corruption were being paid their salaries. She wanted to know how long this would last and why they were being paid.

Comm Petersen noted that the Labour Relations Act required that the Department pay salaries to suspended officials during the period of investigations. He noted that the allegations must be fully investigated and substantiated. If the allegations of corruption were proved, the officials would be prosecuted and no further payments would be made. He stated that he shared the Committee’s concerns on the length of the suspension periods. The Department had negotiated for summary dismissal of serious offenders and also the shortening of periods of suspension.

Mr H Cupido (ACDP) was also concerned with the issue of the asset register. He asked whether the Department had a register of the assets leased to it by the Department of Public Works (DPW)

Comm Petersen noted that the Department had a list of all the assets leased by the DPW, and there were about 800 facilities involved.

The Chairperson noted with concern that 125 members of the management were men and that only 47 were women. Gender balance was a target that the Department was required by the Committee to meet.

The Minister stated that he was very firm on the issue of appointment of women in the management team. He was of the view that the Department was making progress, and presently had achieved a 45% target. This was not included in the report under discussion, which related only to the period up to 31 March 2007.

Bishop L Tolo (ANC) noted that a total of 25,000 parole boards were approved. He stated that he was informed that there were problems in the parole boards in the Southern Cape and wanted to know whether the reported number of parole boards included this area.

The Minister noted that the parole boards were working well and that the number of approved boards covered all parts of the country. He stated that he was to hold meetings with all the Heads of the parole boards in November, when training would be given.  The Department would ensure uniformity in the functions of these boards. The system of parole must not be corrupted by members of the boards and inmates, and the Department was ensuring that this did not happen.

Ms Chikunga stated that the report indicated that there was an increase in the number of sites accredited to administer anti-retroviral drugs. She asked whether the accreditation of these sites went hand in hand with the training of officials on management and administering of ARVs.

The Minister noted that a prevalence survey would be rolled out that gave information on all issues relating HIV / Aids, including the sites that were accredited and training of officials.

The Chairperson and Members formally thanked Comm. Sishuba for her invaluable contribution to the Department and to the Committee and urged her to accept in future any requests for consultation on matters pertaining to the Department.

The meeting was adjourned.