[ Home ] [ Speeches & statements ]

Just over ten years ago, we feared the very people who in a normal society would have been responsible for protecting us.

Prior to 1994, South Africa was a fragmented, undemocratic and oppressive state. Freedom of expression, gathering and political activity was restricted for a large majority of South Africans and the state security apparatus that existed at the time was used to prop up illegitimate governments. State security expertise and resources were used to silence those who sought freedom and equality.

It was not only those living in South Africa who experienced the might of the security services. South Africa's destabilisation policy in Africa resulted in many countries suffering aggressive and brutal attacks against their people and installations - and as we all know, it was the South African state security apparatus that lead the war.

At the time various intelligence capacities existed, those of the state namely the former National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the TBVC states. On the other side of the coin and their adversaries, were the intelligence capacities of the liberation movements, namely the former Department of Intelligence and Security (DIS) and the PASS (Pan Africanist Security Service).
Each served its own master, each with its own mission and philosophy and each believing that it was serving a certain sector of the South African population.

Following the constitutional negotiations that set us on our path to democracy, the statutory and non-statutory intelligence capacities that existed then were amalgamated. Our work was set out - to transform this section of government.

Our biggest challenge during these early years was how to use intelligence to nurture democracy following a history of intelligence being traditionally invasive, insidious and pervasive. It was a period of great uncertainty for the intelligence community as we grappled with shifting our focus from war to that of serving a new united and democratic South Africa.

It was at this point that we first set out to create areas of specialisation, cooperation and coordination among the various security structures thereby maximising resources, avoiding duplication and ensuring optimal security during the early years of transition.

It was only five years after amalgamation that intelligence was upgraded to a full ministry status and we then embarked on a more comprehensive restructuring of the Intelligence Services.

Today the Community is comprised of our domestic arm, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA); our foreign service, the South African Secret Service (SASS), our coordination mechanism, the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (NICOC); our training and development institute, the South African National Academy of Intelligence (SANAI); our secure electronic communications company, COMSEC (Pty) Ltd; a joint interceptions centre, the Office of Interceptions; the Council on Conditions of Service and the Presidential Support Unit (PSU) - each specialising in a certain area of intelligence work.

Today, the South African Civilian Intelligence Community is a proud institution serving the people of this country through its contribution to building peace, security and prosperity - internally and externally. We now boast a transformation, achievements and successes that places us on par with internationally accepted standards. We have come full circle in transforming South Africa from being a securocratic state to a democratic one - one in which intelligence remains important - but this time to safeguard our democracy. Our success is measured through the provision of reliable intelligence that secures our thriving democracy. We secure South Africans right to a normal ordinary life where they are free to manage or mismanage their own private affairs.

Within the intelligence community, efforts continue to improve the conditions of service, the expertise, skills and overall craft of the Intelligence Services - underpinned by a philosophy that engenders a culture of excellence, hard work and devotion to the country and all the people of South Africa. The Intelligence Services play a leading role in guarding our constitutional democracy - and for this reason, capacity building remains vital.

To effect this vision, we established the Council on Conditions of Services and the South African National Academy of Intelligence (SANAI) that leads us in our pursuit of acquiring the highest standard of skills and results to function in a diverse international environment. Already 69 new recruits have graduated from our cadet programmes in 2002 and 2003. The programme is aimed at creating a new pool of critical, analytical and patriotic intelligence officers.

Except for size and resources, we are equal to any service in the world.

As a government today, we play a greater role in the promotion of international security - a moral and strategic responsibility incumbent on South Africa - and government's work out there is aided by South African intelligence officers.

Our intelligence institution's credibility for independence and accuracy was demonstrated during the pre-war situation in Iraqi - and we commit ourselves to continue managing what we do in this vein.

Our intelligence capacity and early warning system has been enhanced to better serve our country and our continent. We have done well so far in detecting conflict before it spirals out of control thus reducing the need for outside intervention. We are therefore well equipped to act with the necessary speed and precision on internal and continental threats and crises. However, the challenges remain daunting in a rapidly changing world - and the South African Secret Service (SASS) plays a vital role in providing the foreign intelligence to give our leaders a competitive advantage in decision-making. In this way, the Intelligence Community contributes to positioning government to optimally advance its objectives in a global context.

South Africa's stature within the international community is unfortunately also discernible through the increase in representation and activities of foreign intelligence services in South Africa. It must also be added that the increase in the number and activities of private intelligence organisations - some of which are used by foreign intelligence - is directly linked this. Some of the public safeguards put in place by ourselves - among other initiatives - is the restriction on trade by former members and the tightening of security screening of all who provide a service to government.

Tighter intelligence coordination - for more effective utilisation of resources - has yielded the intended results that reduce threats to national security.

From this has also emerged clearer mandates for each of the security departments leading to the establishment of specialisation-specific structures such as COMSEC (Pty) Ltd, the Office for Interceptions and the Financial Intelligence Centre, for example.

The Office for Interceptions and COMSEC (Pty) Ltd - are two new structures formed to create specialisation, exercise better control and reduce duplication within government.
COMSEC's responsibility is to protect critical electronic communications infrastructure against cyber attack and information warfare waged by hostile foreign and local entities by providing systems and products to government. COMSEC is also tasked with advancing our technological capacity.

We have been successful in containing threats of terrorism on our soil - in part because of the expertise that exist within the intelligence community, our approach and cooperation as a security cluster and because of the role played by South Africans who share our vision of a secure, stable and prosperous South Africa. They are people - on the outside of the Services - who continue to jealously guard our democracy.

As a government, the challenge for us remains identifying and dealing with the root causes of terrorism while adopting measures to prevent and lessen their impact.

This includes ensuring that weapons of mass destruction are not in the hands of hostile groups. Biological and chemical weapons in the hands of terrorist organisations remain a potential national, regional and international security threat. The recent media reports you must have read illustrate these dangers.

Our vision to balance secrecy and transparency lead to the establishment of the Review Committee on Classification and Declassification. This committee comprised of distinguished academics from across the country was tasked with developing new classification criteria - against the background of government's expressed intention to promote access to information for all. The committee was also tasked with developing declassification criteria - a first for the South African intelligence dispensation - and once discussed by Cabinet the new policy will be publicised and implemented.

Recently a new Inspector-General (IG), selected by the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSIC) that is comprised of representatives of the six biggest political parties in Parliament - was selected. These offices (IG and JSCI) ensure a culture of accountability by the Intelligence Community. We believe that the new IG has all the hallmarks and qualities necessary to carry out this huge responsibility and we wish him well. We also take this opportunity to thank the members of the JSCI for the support we have received from this group of hard working Members of Parliament.

South Africa today is host to several major international events. In 2002 alone, 12 major events including the Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting, the African Union Summit, the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the ICC Cricket World Cup were hosted. In addition, several private sector international conferences take place each year. South Africa's continued hosting of such important international events was as a direct result of the security and stability we enjoy today - made possible through cooperation between the security services.

Since its inception in 1995, the Intelligence Community has established a profile of credibility and legitimacy- and is accepted as a bona fide service that ensures the well being of all South Africans. Our profile is such today that we are involved in all negotiations and peace-making initiatives of the South African government. We believe it is the job of Intelligence Services of the 21st century to provide the information that seeks to change the world into a better place for all.

Our credibility and legitimacy extends to the international arena where we are often consulted - including on the mechanisms we have produced that make us more effective.

SAFETY AND SECURITY

As the South African Police Service (SAPS) celebrates 10 years of freedom, we can look back on some major achievements but must continue to face the challenges and develop new techniques to render an optimal service to all South Africans and visitors.

The SAPS, under the Department for Safety and Security, is tasked with preventing and investigating crime, and maintaining public order.

It is the primary duty of any responsible government to ensure peace and stability within its area of governance. Linked to this obligation is the responsibility to ensure the safety and security of not only the citizens, but everyone within its borders at all times.

Ensuring safety and security carries with it certain basic realities. One of these is that security does not only involve protection against criminal elements or natural threats, but also includes the creation of an environment in which citizens are enabled to empower themselves in a manner that creates opportunities for a better life. To achieve this ideal, Government must work hand in hand with the people.

Moreover, the concepts of peace and stability gain more meaning when not confined to the borders of one country, but are placed in regional, continental and global contexts.

The SAPS was established in 1994 following the amalgamation of the 11 independent police agencies that had existed before the nation's transition to democracy. It has been tasked with providing impartial, transparent and accountable policing that upholds and protects the rights of all people.

Following the advent of democracy in South Africa and the establishment of the SAPS, the overwhelming priority of law enforcement was to create legitimacy for its institutions. Until 1994, law enforcement institutions had served to maintain and enforce apartheid. The structure and functioning of the then policing agencies had to be transformed to respect the Bill of Rights and to ensure greater accountability in terms of the law and to the community at large.

The policies that govern policing are set out in numerous documents, including the SAPS Act, National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS) of 1996 and the National Crime Combating Strategy (NCCS) of 2000. These policies and strategies were compiled to ensure that crime levels would stabilize and that relations between the police and the community would improve during the transformation period.

In January 2000 the South African Police Service embarked on an extensive strategic planning exercise. Strategic priorities were reviewed in terms of crime information and crime pattern analyses, bringing them in line with Government policy. This resulted in the development and implementation of a strategic focus for the SAPS, which provided the framework for the 2002-2005 Strategic Plan.

The Department for Safety and Security has set four key strategic priorities for the medium term. The first strategic priority is to combat organized crime, and to focus on crimes relating to drug and firearm trafficking, vehicle theft and hijacking, organized commercial crime and corruption among public officials.

The second strategic priority is serious and violent crime. The Department has developed strategies to counter the proliferation of firearms, which is fuelling the high levels of violent crime; to improve safety and security in high-crime areas; to combat crimes such as taxi and gang violence and faction fighting (all of which are catalysts for other forms of crime); and to maintain security at large public events.

The third strategic priority focuses on strategies to reduce the incidence of crimes committed against women and children and to improve the investigation and prosecution of these crimes, mainly by means of the Domestic Violence Act, 1998.

The fourth strategic priority is to improve service at police stations through implementation of service delivery improvement programmes.

The Department has identified human resources and budget management as key organizational priorities. An improvement in the rendering of services was incorporated into operational plans at all levels in the SAPS. The National Crime Combating Strategy, which is aimed at combating organized crime and serious and violent crime, informs and directs operations at police stations. In terms of a multi disciplinary geographical approach, police resources are focussed on identified high-crime areas and stations identified for special attention by the President.

The bringing together of a number of Departments, such as the National Defence Force, National Intelligence Agency, Correctional Services and Justice and Constitutional Development, to function as a unit/cluster, adds a new dimension to safety and security. The objectives of the SAPS have, therefore, been brought in line with the goals of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster, which have been approved by Cabinet.

The JCPS strategy is being implemented in two phases, with the aim of stabilizing crime levels by 2003 and bringing them in line with international standards by 2009. The reduction of crime levels during the second phase will depend on the extent to which the causes of crime, many of which fall outside the ambit of the JCPS Cluster, are mitigated. Cooperation with departments in other clusters is imperative. A JCPS task team has been established to coordinate the implementation of a multidimensional anti-drug strategy. This strategy forms part of the Drug Master Plan, which is coordinated by the Central Drug Authority.

The SAPS has made enormous efforts to reduce levels of serious crime. This occurred against a backdrop of increasing generators of conditions conducive to crime, such as rapid urbanisation, the changing demographics of our society, the increasing number of households and the increasing levels of alcohol and drug abuse.

Special focus has been given to crime such as murder, attempted murder, rape, aggravated robbery and serious assault. As a result of police efforts the following achievements, among others, were recorded:

Since 1994 the incidence of murder has decreased by a significant 30,7%
A decrease of 5.7% in the occurrence of rape was recorded in 2002/2003. The rape ratio is at its lowest level since the establishment of the South African Police Service in 1994/95.
There was a significant decrease in high profile cases of aggravated robbery. The hijacking of motor vehicles decreased by 20.2% and bank related robberies (bank robberies as well as cash in transit robberies) decreased by 15.4% during 2003/2004. Both these categories of crime reached the lowest levels recorded since 1996/7.

We are also addressing the issue of increasing policing manpower to meet the needs of the ever-increasing demand for visibility. We should have a complement of 152 000 policemen by the end of the MTEF period.

JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

It has been ten years since that historic day in 1994, when South Africa's first democratically elected government came into power. Amidst the pride and celebrations, however, we all knew that a long road towards transformation lay ahead. During the past ten years the Department has had numerous successes.

Prior to 1994 the majority of our people placed little trust in our courts and in our criminal justice system. The courts were nothing more than a support framework for an unjust and indefensible political regime. It is clear that the public's trust in our new Constitution has, over the first 10 years of our democracy, grown and it continues to put its faith in the new legal frameworks that we have been and will continue to put in place.

The amalgamation and integration of 11 Departments of Justice into one has now been fully completed. In addition, one of the first tasks to be successfully completed by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development was the establishment of the Constitutional Court, which has since been a guiding light for our democracy through its judgements on human rights issues. As part of our 10 years of Democracy celebrations, the new Constitutional Court building will be officially opened next month.

Significant progress has also been made in respect of the transformation of the judiciary. When the post-apartheid government came to office in May 1994, there was only one black male judge and two white female judges in the Republic of South Africa. The judiciary now boasts 8 black Judge Presidents, 76 black and 23 female judges out of a total of 204. Of 1 662 magistrates, 794 are black and 428 are women. It is also important to note that 128 out of 214 - i.e. 60% - of our Superior Court judges are post-apartheid appointments. This result has been achieved through the application of a rigorous appointments procedure conducted by and under the auspices of the Judicial Service Commission.

As far as the courts and service delivery are concerned, the Department's flagship project is Re aga boswa (We are restructuring/rebuilding). The programme calls for extensive business process re-engineering and a revision of organisational structures in our courts to improve efficiency and customer service. The Court Services delivery model seeks to devolve the budget and decision-making powers to the courts to empower them to their full potential. The implementation of the new model has resulted in the phasing out of the Regional Offices and the diversion of the capacity and resources currently residing there to the courts, where they are sorely needed. The process was piloted in KwaZulu-Natal and is to be rolled-out to Gauteng, Free State and the Western Cape in the 2003/04 financial year.

In terms of Case- flow and performance management that has been introduced in the courts, court productivity is improving year by year. It is expected that people continue to judge the justice system by their experiences in our courts and if we are to fully restore, people's confidence in the justice system, we will have to improve the service levels in the many courthouses across the length and breadth of this country.

With an improvement in our law enforcement capacity and increased numbers of criminals being held to account in our courts, it is to be expected that case loads are increasing exponentially. Our vision is to provide a responsive, modern and cost effective court service that allow us to dispense justice efficiently and fairly. To realise this we have in the last nine years, worked hard at addressing problems related to administrative tribulation, postponements and delays in the hearing of cases. The impact of these factors is negative on all court users, but their impact is most keenly felt by the poor and vulnerable members of our society.

As part of the Department's aim to prioritise and improve services to vulnerable groups, such as women and children, the services rendered by the Family Courts in Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Lebowakgomo and Johannesburg are being improved. Rollout of the project to other districts is planned for the near future.

Sexual Offences Courts cater specifically for the needs of the victims of sexual crimes. To date, 50 fully operational courts have been established and have impacted significantly on lessening the trauma of victims and the successful prosecution of offenders. These aligned with the highly successful 16 Days Campaign for No Violence Against Women and Children, which is an integrated effort that involves the government, business, NGOs and Community Based Organisations, we continue to raise awareness about gender based violence by linking it to issues such as health, disability, poverty and human rights.

Access to justice for all victims of crime has received a shot in the arm by the introduction of Community Justice Centres, which make legal representation a reality for the poor and disadvantaged. To date, we have established 57 centres. 13 new justice centres and 12 High Court centres are planned for this year.

Significant legislative developments have marked the past ten years, for instance in the field of Child Justice, Maintenance (the introduction of investigators), Domestic Violence, Witness Protection, Customary Marriages, Organised Crime, Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, Promotion of Access to Information Act and Promotion of Administrative Justice Act.

One of the most important changes to the justice system has been the creation of the National Prosecuting Authority and the establishment of the Directorate of Special Operations (Scorpions). The Office of the NPA boasts tremendous successes in, for instance, the area of organised crime. The establishment of the NPA in 1998 transformed the management and functioning of the prosecution service. All the offices of the former attorneys-general were amalgamated into a single organisation headed by the National Director of Public Prosecutions. In 2000 a new management structure of chief prosecutors was created for the lower courts, and a system of performance targets established. Specialist units, such as the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit, the Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit (SOCA), the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO) also known as the Scorpions, and the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) were established.

Conviction rate targets have been met and, jointly with the work of the Court Services programme, efforts have resulted in more cases being finalised. The conviction rates stand at an average of 85% for the district courts, 67% for the regional courts and 87% for the high courts for the period January to October 2003. However, the increasing number of new cases in the courts presents a continuing challenge for managing backlogs.

The DSO pioneered a new methodology, the troika approach, which combines intelligence, investigation and prosecution. With the DSO's success in high profile cases, public confidence in the organisation's ability to impact on organised crime has grown. Money laundering and racketeering are its new focus areas and the DSO succeeded in obtaining the first ever convictions for racketeering in South Africa. Likewise, the Asset Forfeiture Unit has had a success rate of over 91 per cent since 1999. This Unit is ensuring that the powers in the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (121 of 1998), to seize criminal assets, are used to maximum effect. In the last nine months of the financial year the AFU had returned more than R100m to victims of crime and frozen assets valued at R78m in more than 170 cases. The Scorpions have also confiscated drugs worth R1, 2bn.

During the past ten years the Department has also been instrumental in restructuring and transforming the various institutions and bodies involved in the administration of justice. Legal Aid Board, the SA Law Reform Commission, the Magistrates Commission, the SA Board for Sheriffs and the Rules Board for Courts of Law. Restructuring of the Masters' Offices and the landmark Moseneke judgement will ensure greater access to justice and emphasis on the administration of black estates. We have also established bodies that useful in strengthening democracy, these include the Commission for Gender Equality, South African Human Rights Commission,

Turning to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process, the Constitution states that the pursuit of national unity, the well being of all South African citizens and peace, require reconciliation between the people of the South Africa and the reconstruction of our society.

To this end, Government has since taken a decision to deal with the Regulations on Reparations in two phases. Phase 1 deals with the payment of the once-off individual reparation grant of R30 000. The President's Fund is currently giving effect to these provisions. As at 12 February 2004 the status of the payments are as follows:

• Number of persons paid - 11 735
• Amount paid R353 million
• Number of persons still to be paid 3 739

The persons still to be paid are some of the beneficiaries of deceased victims who in terms of the Regulations had to be referred to courts, to be displayed on notice boards for a period of 30 days. This was done to invite persons who might have a higher preference to the claim than the beneficiary who received the interim reparation. Included in the unpaid creditors are persons who did not supply their banking details as well as some bank accounts were automatically closed subsequent to the furnishing of banking details due to inactivity. The President's Fund is busy attempting to contact these people by putting up notices at all Magistrates' Court every Friday.

Phase 2 of the Regulations will deal with programmes that will be regulated to provide for medical benefits, education assistance, provision of housing, other social benefits as well as symbols and monuments.

In conclusion, our vision is to meet the challenge of assisting Government in the creation of a stable society, in which all communities are able to live in peace, safety and security.

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES

Introduction

The Department of Correctional Services has achieved laudable achievements over the past ten years. These, however have to be understood within the context of its history that has been characterised by various cultures and sub-cultures among the members of the Department and the prisoners.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Rehabilitation

The success of the Department's rehabilitation programmes over the past few years since the introduction of the concept was remarkable as the shift was made from just incarceration to accepting the eventuality that the prisoner will finally return to society and should do so as a rehabilitated and law-abiding member of society.

Skills Development

The Department has constructed 14 skills training centres throughout the country to enable inmates to acquire skills in computers, brick laying, woodwork, welding, garment-making and business as part of the rehabilitation process. This prepares them for re-integration into society so that they can be absorbed easily into the industrial market and minimise the chances of recidivism. A total of over 12,400 inmates have benefited from these programmes in the past 10 years.

These training facilities are also being availed to members of neighbouring communities who may also empower themselves by acquiring the necessary skills, apart from promoting cooperation and greater interaction between the Department and the community.

Thirteen Government Departments including the Presidency. Labour, Public Works, Foreign Affairs and others have purchased finished products made by prisoners in the Department's workshops. These are the same prisoners who have benefited from the Department's Skills Development Programme. About 6,640 items have been produced. Between 2002 and the end of 2003, R6.8 million was collected and deposited with Treasury.

Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET)

A total of about 73, 000 inmates have benefited from our ABET programmes which provide a fundamental education platform for lifelong learning and development, comprising knowledge, skills and attitudes required for social, economic and political participation in various contexts.

Drugs and Gangs in Prison

Drug trafficking and gang fights to establish territorial control have been exposed and much more needs to be done if this situation is to be eradicated. Efforts have been made to dissuade people from outside prison as well as those inside from smuggling drugs into prison.

Transformation

The transformation of the correctional system in South Africa has mirrored the challenges of eradicating the heritage of apartheid as we have moved from a closed, punishment-focused, militarised and oppressive prison system to a rehabilitation-focused correctional system appropriate to social crime prevention and our democracy. The Department is at the coalface of facing the fallout of transition, as many of the consequences contribute towards citizens' involvement in crime.

As such, the Department is committed to contributing to the Government's work to address the consequences of social transition, be it in contributing to the sense of belonging, national identity, pride, national values or enhancing socio-economic development in the "second economy".

Human Rights

The process of introducing human rights into our criminal justice and penal system has in itself contributed to the democratisation of South Africa, and the intensive anti-corruption strategy over the past years to cleanse the correctional system has contributed towards a culture of good governance required by any democratic state.

Restorative Justice

The Department decided to champion the virtues of the Restorative Justice Approach as essential to the restoration of relationships for successful integration. The emphasis is on the importance of the victim, families and community members participating in the healing process and holding the offender directly accountable to those they have violated.

Fighting Corruption

The Department of Correctional Services recognises the enormous challenge it has to change the profile of the correctional official from that of a prison warder perceived to be prone to corrupt influences to a role model and a rehabilitator. This change is no longer optional as correctional officials are best placed to influence offenders negatively or positively. Since the Minister undertook a road show and held countrywide anti-corruption workshops in 2002, two important milestones were reached in terms of the Department's commitment to root out corruption:

Approval of a National Risk Management Plan and Anti-Corruption Strategy to assist the Management of the Department to focus on the continuous improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department.

The establishment of a formal Anti-Corruption Unit in the organisational structure of the Department for the sound management of the Department's anti-corruption strategy.

Following the countrywide anti-corruption road show referred to and which saw the strengthening of anti-corruption mechanisms within the Department, recent figures show that over 500 various cases have come to the fore over the past year, dating from 1996 to the present.

The new structure includes the establishment of an internal capacity that will root out and provide sanctions against corruption, while also ensuring that corruption prevention becomes an integral part of the management responsibilities within the Department.

The Jali Commission

Further progress was registered on efforts to root out corruption in the Department with the implementation of the recommendations of the Jali Commission. The Jali which was the result of a request by the Minister for Correctional Services to the President in 2001 to establish a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of corruption, mismanagement and crime in certain South African prisons.

Initial reports of the Jali Commission, made public, revealed that 25 officials of the Department were dismissed for offences such as drug smuggling, corruption, falsifying qualifications and so on in KwaZulu-Natal, 18 officials were dismissed in Grootvlei while the Provincial Commissioner of the Eastern Cape was dismissed for fraud.

The White Paper

The Cabinet-approved draft White Paper on Corrections in South Africa, replacing the 1994 White Paper on Correctional Services, arises out of a need for a long-term strategic policy and operational framework that recognizes corrections as a societal responsibility and the need for the Department of Correctional Services to gear all its activities to serve a rehabilitation mission that ensures, through delivery of appropriate programmes, without compromising security, that people who leave prisons or correctional centres have appropriate attitudes and competencies enabling them to integrate successfully back to society as law abiding and productive citizens.
This new direction is setting new major challenges to both the broader society and the Department of Correctional Services. The main challenge of the Department of Correctional Services is to translate the vision of the draft White Paper into operational activities and as such complete a long term White Paper Implementation Plan that will be taken to Cabinet before the end of the financial year.

Poverty Alleviation

The Department decided to launch and roll out its poverty alleviation programme to various provinces and contribute to the improvement of the lives of ordinary South Africans, especially those living in disadvantaged communities. The distribution of these services is targeted at Old Age Homes, Orphanages School Children, the Disabled and the Destitute.

Since the launch of the programme, the majority of prisons have engaged in poverty alleviation projects but 17 areas have managed to realise surplus produce in agriculture, to donate to poor members of communities living near our prisons. The Department has managed to reach 83% self-sufficiency in the production of pork, 67% in vegetable production, 53% in the production of eggs and 45% in the production of chickens. Efforts are being made to raise the levels of self-sufficiency in the production of other foodstuffs.

Overcrowding

The latest available figures indicate that our current prison population stands at 185, 632. This figures comprise 55, 232 unsentenced prisoners and 130, 400 sentenced prisoners.

Our current prison capacity stands at 110, 874, meaning that we are overpopulated by 74, 758 or 65%.

Several strategies meant to reduce overcrowding in prisons were made public but overcrowding should be understood within the context of our being classified as the fourth most aggressive jailer in the world after the United States, Russia and Belarus with about 420 South African residents per 100, 000 being in prison.

The strategies meant to reduce overcrowding including the renovation and expansion of prison facilities, particularly the implementation of the "New Generation" prison design concept. Work has begun to build four new prisons following this concept and it is expected the first prison will be delivered in April 2006.

This is in addition to the fact that during the past ten years, ten new prisons were constructed and two were rebuilt to tackle the problem of overcrowding. Two of the ten prisons are Public Private Partnership prisons and they have a combined capacity of
5, 952.

The Department released prisoners whose parole dates were forwarded by ten months and this decision affected more than 7, 000 prisoners throughout the country during 2003.

Through consultation with colleagues in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster, the awaiting trial prison population came down for the first time last year as a result of an agreement for the court processes to be speeded up through Saturday courts and the free participation of the Law Society of South Africa in dealing with court cases to promote plea-bargaining.

Public Private Partnerships

The Department continued to promote and strengthen partnerships with the community through Imbizo providing a platform for the community to raise its concerns and also to inform the communities of Government activities. Imbizos have become a forum for the community to know what Government is doing for them and for Government to identify the needs of the people.

The Department continued to strengthen its relationships with the various Non Governmental Organisations and other stakeholders to strengthen the Department's rehabilitation programmes in preparation for the eventual release of prisoners to the community.

The complexity of the correctional system will continue to make it difficult for us to achieve prison reform. Prison reform is difficult but not impossible. In the first place we have to empower members of this Department to enable them to deal with these elements. They need to benefit from programmes in counselling, social work, education and others, which will enhance their personal development.

They have to have the ability to change the behaviour of prisoners as well as to protect the weaker ones who are prone to the ravages of crime and corruption. They have to be nurtured before they mutate into hardened criminals or being caught up in the revolving door syndrome.

The commitment of everyone in Correctional Services is essential if we are to achieve the aspiration of our vision, which is "to deliver a professional Correctional Services by means of progressive management, trained personnel, sound work ethics, performance management and good governance".

Issued by: Ministry for Justice and Constitutional Development
13 February 2004