The governance and financial management failures that resulted in the Department of Correctional Services’ regression to a disclaimer audit opinion for the 2025/26 financial year need urgent attention according to Select Committee on Security and Justice.
The committee has emphasised the need for stronger internal controls, prioritised consequence management and measurable corrective action to prevent recurring audit failures.
It raised these concerns during its engagement with the department on its 2025/26 Annual Report. While acknowledging operational achievements, including the attainment of 85% of its annual performance targets, committee members stressed that these achievements must be matched by sound financial management, credible reporting and effective accountability systems.
Committee Chairperson Ms Jane Seboletswe Mananiso said the department must urgently address the underlying issues that led to the disclaimer audit opinion, including pursuing and interrogating matters it has attributed to technical glitches. She said these explanations must be properly scrutinised and challenged where necessary to establish the actual causes of the audit failures and ensure improved audit outcomes.
Committee Member Mr Virgil Gericke raised concerns after the Minister said that he had told the department not to pursue legal action regarding the change in its audit opinion. Mr Gericke questioned the Minister’s involvement in what he considered an administrative matter, emphasising that the accounting officer must exercise the powers and responsibilities vested in that office.
Mr Gericke also stressed the importance of respecting the constitutional principle of separation of powers and cautioned against casting aspersions on the Office of the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA). He called on the department to resolve any technical issues it had identified to ensure clear and credible audit reporting going forward. Mr Gericke also indicated that he would consider lodging a complaint with Parliament in terms of its Code of Conduct regarding the matter.
Ms Mananiso emphasised that the department must demonstrate what concrete interventions will follow the audit findings, rather than repeatedly appearing before the committee with the same governance failures. “The department cannot afford to repeatedly appear before the committee with the same governance failures. We want to understand what concrete measures will be implemented following these audit outcomes to ensure that we do not return next year to report the same shortcomings. Consequence management must be prioritised, and those responsible for failures must be held accountable,” she said.
The importance of consequence management was also raised by committee member Mr Phiroane Phala, who welcomed the department’s efforts to pursue memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with neighbouring countries. However, Mr Phala stressed that accountability for administrative and financial failures must remain a priority. He expressed concern about the approximately 30 000 foreign nationals held in correctional facilities and emphasised the need for effective arrangements with neighbouring countries to address this challenge.
Members further emphasised the need for stronger collaboration between the department and other government departments to improve service delivery and rehabilitation outcomes. Committee member Mr Ofentse Mokae highlighted weaknesses in the integrated justice system, particularly the absence of a unified inmate identification and information system across the justice cluster. He said the inability to consistently track offenders across the system undermines effective case management and contributes to inefficiencies.
Mr Mokae also raised concern about the significant expenditure on the Integrated Inmate Management System, which remains only partially operational. Committee members heard that the system had been implemented in only 35% of correctional facilities, with many centres still relying on the admission and release system. He called on the department to explain what concrete steps it was taking to accelerate the rollout, address manual processing and improve the reliability of inmate identification and records.
The committee was particularly concerned about remand detainees who remain unsentenced for periods of between five and eight years, despite repeated court appearances. Mr Mokae highlighted how the absence of an integrated identification and information system across the justice cluster makes it difficult to track previous cases and follow offenders through the criminal justice process. Members stressed that better coordination and information-sharing across the justice sector are essential to addressing prolonged remand detention and overcrowding.
Vacancies on parole boards and their implications for effective parole administration were also raised. The committee will prioritise an engagement with parole boards in its programme next year to gain a better understanding of their operational challenges and identify possible interventions.
On rehabilitation and reintegration, the committee stressed that successful reintegration must extend beyond the release of offenders. Committee members highlighted the need to understand the experiences and concerns of communities, particularly the impact of parolees and the risk of reoffending.
Committee member Mr Nicholas Gotsell questioned whether the department measures actual reoffending rates and detects parole violations, or whether its performance assessments focus primarily on the number of programmes and administrative activities completed. He emphasised the importance of measuring whether rehabilitation and parole interventions achieve their intended outcomes.
The committee stressed that rehabilitation programmes must translate into meaningful reintegration, reduced reoffending and safer communities. The department must therefore strengthen its monitoring of parolees and demonstrate the impact of its rehabilitation interventions.
The integrated justice system will remain a priority for the committee's oversight programme next year, alongside overcrowding, remand detention and the management of foreign nationals. The committee encouraged the department to pursue MOUs with neighbouring countries to facilitate appropriate arrangements, including repatriation where legally permissible.
Ms Mananiso said the committee’s collective experience and oversight role could assist the department in identifying practical solutions to persistent challenges. “The committee’s oversight must contribute to practical solutions that improve correctional services, strengthen rehabilitation and reduce overcrowding, rather than allowing these problems to persist. We expect the department to demonstrate accountability through measurable improvements and sustained corrective action,” she said.
The committee will continue monitoring the department’s implementation of corrective measures, with particular focus on improved audit outcomes, consequence management, inmate management systems, parole administration, rehabilitation and the successful reintegration of offenders.
Rajaa Azzakani
12 November 2026
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