CORRECTIONAL SERVICES BUDGET VOTE SPEECH
BY MINISTER B M SKOSANA MP MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
30 MAY 2003

Madame Speaker
Honourable Members
Ladies and Gentlemen

Various societies, the World over, hold divergent views about the purpose of a Correctional System. This is necessarily so because of their different historical and cultural experiences. Prisons in many ways have become dumping grounds for society’s unwanted and those that are believed to be untamed.

Research shows that a significant number of prisoners enter prisons with mental health and other medical problems. A high proportion of prisoners lack even basic literacy skills. Because of lack of resources many of these problems are not adequately tackled within the prison environment.

In an attempt to find answers to questions on the concept and philosophy of Corrections, authors such as Richard Terrill found that the importance of the juxtaposition of penal theory and the architectural design of correctional institutions is a notion that emerged in England during the late eighteenth century.

At roughly the same time, police practitioners began in earnest to support improvements in law enforcement. People were questioning some of the basic assumptions behind the administration of justice, just as they were questioning many of the established political, religious, scientific and social assumptions on which society was based.

Many of these basic tenets have been introduced originally during the middle ages, a period that some have referred to as the Age of Faith. The eighteenth century was a markedly different period, known by contemporaries as the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason – espousing a belief that the individual was a free, rational and equal member of society. Such notions were obviously at cross-purposes with established custom and authority.

The eighteenth century serves as a useful benchmark for the emergence of the modern development of English corrections. It was during this time that people consciously and rationally attempted to study the purposes of and the conditions for incarcerating law violators. In order to appreciate the contributions of Enlightenment thinkers, it is useful to examine the state of corrections at earlier points in time. Anglo-Saxon dooms and medieval statutes enable us to piece together that history.

Following the Norman Conquest of 1066, the use of imprisonment appears to have declined somewhat.

Two possible explanations have been offered for this development. On the one hand, imprisoning people was a costly enterprise for the captor. On the other hand, alternatives to incarceration did exist. For example, death, mutilation and outlawry had long been established methods for punishing serious offenders, while compensation was considered an appropriate sanction for less serious offences.

However, a trend has developed over the years, which we also subscribe to, that a need exists to place more emphasis on rehabilitation of those who are serving sentences imposed by the Courts and referred to our facilities.

Our transition to a Constitutional democracy aimed at making a break with the arduous years marked by oppression, violation of basic rights of citizens, policies of racial discrimination and general misrule directed at the African people demanded that we engage in radical reform programmes of our prison system.

Since the promulgation of the Correctional Services Act, Act 111 of 1998, efforts were made to ensure that the Correctional System operates in the spirit of our Constitution as well as international conventions and treaties.

The Act attempts to address, inter alia, issues such as:

The entrenchment of fundamental rights of offenders; placing a special emphasis on the rights of special groups of offenders such as women, young offenders and children in prison; developing a transparent disciplinary system for offenders; establishing various safeguards regarding the use of segregation and force; creating a framework for treatment, development and support of offenders; establishing a correctional supervision and parole system that involves the community, partners in the Criminal Justice System as well as the victim or representative of the victim; and the establishment of extensive external monitoring mechanisms such as the Judicial Inspectorate and the National Council for Correctional Services (NCCS).

We remain committed to our vision of being among the first in the World in delivering Correctional Services with integrity and commitment.

This we shall attain by placing rehabilitation at the centre of our activities in safe and secure environment, and strengthening our partnerships with the people of South Africa and our global partners, particularly the people of our Continent, Africa, in the true spirit of ‘African Renaissance’ under the programme of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

To intensify our involvement in the region, Cabinet approved a meeting of Ministers responsible for Correctional Services and Prisons in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) which I requested. This meeting will take place in Pretoria on the 3^rd July 2003.

In our attempt to contribute to international developments in the field of Corrections and Management of Prisons, the Commissioner, with some Senior Managers and myself undertook some visits overseas and in Africa. We attended conferences and presented papers in some of these forums.

In recognition of our contribution in these global initiatives, I, as the Minister of Correctional Services, was elected to be the Vice-President of the International Relations Committee of the American Correctional Association (ACA).

This is the biggest organisation in the field of Corrections in the World where service providers, intellectuals and practitioners in Corrections and Prisons converge to share best practices and developments in Correctional Services and prison reform.

South Africa’s approach to prison management and community correctional supervision is based on the principles of restorative justice, unit management, direct supervision, secure, safe and humane custody of offenders.

This approach is as far as practicable in line with international standards. As Government we believe that correction, both as self-correction and correction of others, is inherent in good citizenship.

All citizens should contribute to maintaining and protecting a just, peaceful and safe society in our country by upholding the law and justice, and promoting the social responsibility and human development of all citizens. Correction is thus not merely the responsibility of the Department of Correctional Services but a shared responsibility of all social institutions and individuals - the family, educational, religious, sporting and cultural institutions, as well as a range of government departments. In cases where these institutions and society have failed, the criminal justice system and the Department of Correctional Services take up a bigger role in the performance of their responsibilities.

At this tertiary level of correction, rehabilitation and the prevention of recidivism are best achieved through a person correcting their offending behaviour and developing themselves, and not through punishment. While it is true that the responsibility is primarily that of an offender, correctional agencies, community and the household to which the offender returns also have a great deal of influence on whether or not that change will occur.

We view this approach as a medium to long term plan, a visionary strategy in turning the tide against crime in the Country. The role of all these institutions and individuals can therefore not be over-emphasised. In the context of dysfunctional families, combined with the discrepancy between the social values that are enshrined in the Constitution and the society that we have inherited, the other social institutions take on more significant importance in the development of a correcting environment for children and youth.

It is therefore a disturbing factor and concern that we experience a high influx of young people in our system. Statistics indicate that we have 29,951 young people in our system, 14,573 are awaiting trial while 15,378 have been sentenced. This is apart from the 208 children who live with their mothers in prison.

Today we are still in the process of observing Child Protection week throughout the country. Every child is entitled to protection and we as a Department believe that no child belongs in prison.

However, if they are in the circumstances in which they find themselves, everyone of us has the responsibility to ensure that they too are reserved a place in the sun.

Despite the challenges that we face as a department, we can proudly report on the advances made in the reforms that the system went through and the gains made through the assistance and support of members of this House and social partners in the Society within the limited resources at our disposal.

We are happy and proud to note that our efforts at achieving higher heights have not gone unnoticed since our Department was recently recognised and nominated as one of the top performers in the public sector by the well-known Impumelelo Group of Companies. This is a source of tremendous encouragement to us.

In pushing back the frontiers of poverty, Correctional Services engaged in a number of poverty alleviation projects to the value of R496 239 in the past financial year. However, the biggest value we achieved is engaging offenders in projects that had a direct benefit to the community through agricultural and building projects.

We also wish to thank community leaders and Makgosi/Amakhosi/ Marena who supported our efforts in the various communities. We believe that the sustainability of these projects depends on the continued collaboration between communities, community-based institutions and us.

In the past financial year, the Department of Correctional Services endeavoured to develop a common understanding of Rehabilitation in the context of Corrections, and to develop the processes through which it can be achieved. It is expected that these initiatives will be delivered within this MTEF budget allocations starting from the 2003/2004 financial year.

Over the medium term the growth of the programme has slowed down, owing to the pressure on the Vote by a rising prisoner population. Most of the pressure is due to administrative expenditure, which will nearly double from R14,6 million in 2002/03 to R27,9 million in 2003/04, and is expected to increase further to R31,5 million in 2005/06.

The budget allocation to our department for the 2003/2004 financial year amounts to R 7,6 billion and provides for an establishment of 36 320 personnel and operational costs for a daily average offender population of 183 000 prisoners and 70 000 probationers and parolees. This represents a total increase of 9.25% on the total adjusted allocation of R 7.02 billion for the 2002/2003 financial year.

The Department estimates that it will receive income and miscellaneous receipts of about R 80,2 million during 2003/04 and that these revenues will grow at an annual average of 4.5 per cent generated largely by the sale of products from prison workshops, hiring out prison labour and renting out official personnel accommodation. All income generated is deposited into the National Revenue Fund. Of this amount 22,9% is generated through the sale of goods and services provided by offenders.

The Budget for Rehabilitation increases by an average of 8,3 per cent per annum from R264,8 million in 1999/00 to R427,5 million in 2005/06.

A total of 22 360 offenders were trained during 2002 in a variety of skills related to the workshop, building and agricultural fields. The establishment of 12 training centres of the planned 14 training centres has already been completed. These centres are aimed at the promotion of Occupational Skills Training, in which artisan status cannot be obtained but specialized training is provided.

It is aimed at equipping offenders with basic technical skills in a variety of fields such as brick-making, brick-laying, woodwork, welding, garment making, etc. Business skills training is also provided in order to equip individuals with skills to operate their own small businesses. I would like to thank the Department of Labour for their assistance and financial support in this regard.
The President’s Award programme, a self-development programme available to young offenders equipping them with life skills to make a difference to themselves, their communities and their world, forms part of Rehabilitation programmes for young offenders in the Department. It is a holistic programme that aims to promote the social, psychological and physical well being of young people in South Africa. A President’s Award Gold Ceremony was hosted in Grahamstown on 7 July 2002.

During this prestigious event the former President Dr Nelson Mandela, who is the Patron-in-chief, accompanied by the Earl of Wessex and his wife and Commissioner Mti, handed Gold Awards to 110 young offenders who successfully participated in the programme. The involvement of the President’s Award in young offender programmes has played a significant role in seeing young people in conflict with the law being successfully reintegrated into society.

This programme was founded by the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip in England but grew to be an international programme running in a number of countries around the World.

In South Africa, it started at St Albans prison in Port Elizabeth in 1994 with 14 offenders. To date some 20 000 young offenders have been through the programme.

Let me take this opportunity to thank the Speaker of this House, the Honourable Dr Frene Ginwala for the role she played as the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the President’s Award. In the same breath I wish to welcome and congratulate the Honourable Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi as the incoming Chairperson. I must also add that we remain indebted to our former President, Dr Nelson Mandela for the excellent support and leadership he is providing to the Programme as the Patron-in-Chief.

The Department made enormous gains in developing a better understanding of its role in the implementation of Restorative Justice and this led to a joint Conference on Restorative Justice: ‘From Theory to Implementation’ led by the Department of Justice and various activities including joint training sessions conducted by officials from Canada who are regarded as leaders in the implementation of this approach.

Our poverty alleviation programmes and the inclusion of victims or their representatives in our parole system are at the forefront of our initiatives which seek to promote and operationalise this concept and facilitate the process of healing and restitution.

The Moral Regeneration Movement and the work of the Social Cluster of Government in strengthening social cohesion and promoting social justice will make a major contribution to the Department’s rehabilitation and correction efforts both through guiding ethical values to those already convicted, and ensuring the revival of the South African ethos and ethic of Ubuntu/Botho in our communities.

The R 3.5 billion allocated for Incarceration provides for the humane detention of prisoners in safe custody until they are lawfully released.

The programme also covers the health care and physical needs of prisoners to comply with national and international norms and standards on the treatment of offenders. This accounts for 43% of the total budget over the MTEF period.

It is projected that expenditure will increase due to the envisaged increases in operating costs, including the appointment of additional personnel caused by projected increases on the prisoner population.

Health and Physical Care expenditure is also expected to increase due to an increased provision for prisoner primary health and dental care to counter the spread of opportunistic infections in prisons, including HIV and AIDS.
We however welcome the initiatives from our partners, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Emory University, USA. These organisations have recently completed a survey on health issues in prisons in the post-apartheid era. I am certain that Government and the whole country are waiting in anticipation of their findings in this regard.

Government is equally anxious to get the planned HIV/AIDS Prevalence and Attitude Survey to be undertaken by the Department off the ground. This information will be valuable in aiding decision-making and facilitating the implementation of our HIV/AIDS Strategy amongst personnel and offenders. It is envisaged that this exercise will be completed twelve months from now.

As a result of the successful implementation of Unit Management which is an effective strategy to reduce prison violence and to control gang activity, we have succeeded in managing the incidents of violence and unnatural deaths in prison.

Over and above the safety of offenders, the Department is also committed to reinforce delivery on secure facilities and the prevention of escapes. This is an integral part of the purpose of the correctional system, but is also a prerequisite for the rehabilitation process.

In general, the Department was quite successful in bringing down the numbers of escapes compared to previous years. However, due to one unfortunate incident at Bizana prison, in the Eastern Cape in December 2002 where 98 offenders escaped during an evacuation operation as a result of a serious fire threat, there was an increase in the number of escapes from 223 in 2001/2002 to 281 in 2002/2003.

Spending on Community Corrections will grow on average by only 3,9 per cent from R258,8 million in 2002/03 to R290,5 million in 2005/06. This has the potential to relieve some of the pressure on incarceration and overcrowding as well reducing the cost of the Vote.

The Department of Correctional Services is encouraging alternative sentencing options within the Justice Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster and the enhancement of service delivery to parolees and probationers which will have a major impact on expenditure in future.

The challenge that faces the Department in relation to community corrections is to enhance the rehabilitation, correction and development aspects of the correctional supervision in order for it to be seen as a viable alternative sentencing option.

The Department’s approach to the extension of correction of offending behaviour, promotion of social responsibility and development of the human being in community-based correctional supervision has been to ensure that there is an integrated support system.

This is complemented by a system of referral and networking that supports the offender in their residential area, and facilitates their reintegration into the community from which they have come.

The problem of overcrowding in our prisons remains one of the biggest challenges facing the Department of Correctional Services.

Overcrowding has a negative effect on our operations as it impacts on staff morale due to unacceptable working conditions, the health of offenders, effective safe custody and the ability of the Department to allocate resources effectively for rehabilitation of offenders, and results in abnormally high maintenance costs of prison facilities.

The latest available figures indicate that our prison population stands at 187 748. Our capacity remains at 110 874, and this means that we are overpopulated by 78 874 or 71.1%.

South Africa was last year classified as the fourth most aggressive jailer in the world after the United States, Russia and Belarus.

However, we are encouraged with the allocation of R 900,6 million for our capital works projects. This figure provides for the construction of four new facilities with a capacity of 3000 each within this MTEF period.

These projects are expected to begin later this year and it is envisaged that they will be operational by the 2005/2006 financial year. These will be the first batch of prisons that would be in accordance with the "New Generation" low cost affordable prison design which I unveiled in August 2002.

Repairs and renovations are continuing in twelve prisons in KwaZulu/Natal, Eastern Cape and North West Province and accommodation will be available for 863 more offenders. The Department continues to address the maintenance of the fixed assets of the Department and the improvement of the quality of the prison facilities.

Contracts have been awarded for the repair and maintenance of 33 prisons, 14 of which have been completed, and the remainder to be completed during the current financial year. A further 146 prisons have been identified for the awarding of contracts for repair and maintenance (RAMP).

It is imperative that we involve prisoners in undertaking most of the repairs as part of their training programme.

The budget allocation provides for an amount of R 492,9 million (6,4%) of the total budget for the financing of the operational costs of the two privately operated prisons with a capacity of 5 952 beds, which are managed under the Asset Procurement and Operating Partnership Systems (APOPS) as a Public Private Partnership.

We continue to receive positive and encouraging reports from the two facilities which are Mangaung Prison in the Free State and Kutama-Sinthumule Prison in Limpopo Province.

A recently established JCPS Overcrowding Task Team, led by Correctional Services, is constantly monitoring the performance of the criminal justice system in relation to the accused and sentenced individuals, to identify the blockages that result in increased prisoner numbers.

Flowing from the process of "Gearing DCS for Rehabilitation" as well as the Restructuring and Transformation of the Public Service, the Department agreed on a new range of services to be provided to offenders in carrying out our mandate.


These Services will form the basis of our budget as soon as Treasury Approval has been obtained to recognise them as Programmes. However, the Strategic Plan tabled to Parliament already provides for these programmes, namely:

Corrections, which is aimed at targeting the correction of the offending behaviour of offenders.
Development, which aims to provide development to offenders through education and training opportunities.
Care, which refers to needs based services aimed at maintenance of the well being of persons under departmental care; providing for physical well-being, nutrition, social link with families and society, spiritual, moral and psychological well-being and health care.
Security, which is aimed at ensuring provision of safety and security for personnel, members of the public and offenders.
Facilities, which aims at ensuring the availability of facility requirements and maintenance.
After Care, which would focus on persons under the care of the Department in preparation for the completion of sentences, to facilitate social acceptance and effective reintegration into their communities.

To promote the effective governance and administration of the Department the budget allocation provides for personnel expenditure which amounts to R4,9 billion for personnel salaries.

Over the medium term this category of expenditure continues to dominate due to the labour-intensive nature of our operations. Our people, Correctional Officials and management are a valuable resource in the delivery of our services. Correctional Services is a people business. We therefore need people in order for us to be effective.

The Department has asserted that "Every member is a Rehabilitator" and shown that the manner in which each and every staff member performs his or her task, either contributes to creating an environment promoting rehabilitation or militates against rehabilitation and correction of offending behaviour. The ideal correctional official should be a person who finds a high degree of compatibility and synergy with the Code of Ethics and Conduct adopted by the Department.

Moreover, the ideal correctional official should embody the values that the Department hopes to instil in the offender as it is this same member who is to assist and facilitate the rehabilitation process of the offenders and treat them with decency, humanity and fairness.

The lack of, or limited international best practice that is relevant and comparable to our situation presents a further challenge when considering staff training and development needs for the realisation of the new paradigm.
Correctional service has not been adequately recognised as a field of professional practice, a challenge now unavoidable. The limited university-based programmes in the field of corrections contribute to the low development of corrections as a profession.

Consequently the bulk of the capacity that the department requires to deliver services has to be developed internally, and is hence a major challenge for Human Resource Development.

The Department must also develop a human resource provisioning strategy that would attract the relevant knowledge and skills required to deliver on this mandate while doing its best to retain those who are in its employ.

These challenges brought about by the renewed paradigm and emphasis on Correction and Rehabilitation mean that the Department needs, more than ever before, to poise itself for extensive staff training, for recruitment of new personnel and for the retention of existing staff.

It is appropriate for me to re-state our commitment as a department to good governance and ensuring compliance with Government and Departmental policies.

The work of the Jali Commission, the investigations of the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) and the anti-corruption campaign I undertook are beginning to bear fruit in the establishment of a clean and transparent administration.

The Correctional Services Act also provides for the establishment of a Judicial Inspectorate headed by an Inspecting Judge. In our case the good work done by the Honourable Justice J J Fagan leaves us with no shadow of doubt that we are on the right track regarding the treatment of offenders. He has succeeded in pointing out the pressure we are facing as a result of overcrowding in our facilities.

This and other organs of state keep us on our toes in ensuring compliance. NGOs and even ordinary citizens, family and friends of offenders share their concerns and perceptions with us, and enable the Department’s Management to redress non-compliance with policy.

I also wish to express my gratitude to the National Council for Correctional Services (NCCS), chaired by Judge Siraj Desai, also established in terms of the Correctional Services Act to advise me as Minister of Correctional Services as well as the President on any matter of Correctional Services.

It is with sadness that this formidable body consisting of Professors, Criminologists, Lawyers, Social Workers, Psychologists, Magistrates, Prosecutors, and Police Officers lost one of its members, Dr Mzinyathi was a Clinical Psychologist serving in the Council. I send condolences from the department and on behalf of Government to his family.

In concluding this contribution to the Budget Vote 21 debate, I must emphasise that while we have not been able to deliver everything that we hoped to achieve in the past financial year, there have been successes achieved on our programmes.

I can confidently say that the Department is consolidating the strategic direction in a manner that will provide a coherent framework for service delivery and avoid unnecessary reinventing of the wheel, or unnecessary changes with new personnel entering the Department or taking up new posts.

The updated strategic plan, the new organisational structure, the White Paper process underway, and the commitment of the dedicated personnel in the Department bode well for the development of a more effective and focused administration of the Department, facilitating more effective delivery on the key services to the offenders.

Madame Speaker, let me take this opportunity to thank the Commissioner, Mr Linda Mti, the Management and Staff of this Department for the hard work they put in the process of re-writing the story of Corrections in the transformation of our Country. These men and women work under difficult and strenuous conditions, they need to be commended for job well done.

I also wish to thank all the Non Governmental Organisations, Faith Based Organisations, Community Based Organisations, Tertiary and other Educational Institutions and parastatals that are always available to assist us in the delivery of our services.

We shall rely on the support of all our stakeholders in meeting the challenges that lie ahead such as the completion of the White Paper on Correctional Services, the establishment of Parole Boards, the implementation of rehabilitation programmes that would require the training and re-training of personnel, carrying out HIV/AIDS prevalence survey and the construction of New Generation Prisons. The challenge to develop a scientifically based approach to correcting offending behaviour will not be met overnight.

The challenges are vast, but we are up to the challenge.

God bless this House,
God bless Correctional Services,
God bless South Africa.
I thank you.