The Department of Correctional Services appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services to account for South Africa’s growing inmate population and the impact this on offenders’ rights to classification, privileges and the department’s community corrections initiative.
The department stated that its classification, privileges and labour programmes are meant to incentivise good behaviour, promote moral and ethical behaviour and impart skills and aptitudes to assist inmates to reintegrate into society on their release. Halfway houses are one of the crucial bridges to inmates’ reintegration, which provide social, moral and psychological support structures to ease the process.
Committee members asked the department various questions about the rehabilitation programmes. One of which was posed by Mr Janho Engelbrecht, asked to what extent the Correctional Services Amendment Act 17 of 1994 is responsible for the overcrowding in correctional facilities.
The Minister of Correctional Services, Dr Pieter Groenewald, responded that the Act and statues is a political matter because we and the courts have no say on the legislation that prescribe sentences for various categories of offences. As an example, he mentioned that due to the rise in GBV, an amendment was made to the legislation that perpetrators of certain GBV offences should get life sentences. “As much as I personally support such a stance, this has led to the spike in life sentences,” explained. The result is that in 1994, there were 400 lifers, now there are well over 20 000 of them.
The Minister also urged the committee to make contributions to the forthcoming amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act, which will soon be tabled before the committee.
Querying the department’s moves to its rehabilitation ideals and the need to safeguard South Africans from repeat offenders, committee member Ms Kabelo Kgobisa-Ngcaba asked how sex offenders are deemed to be ready for parole. In response, the Minister criticised the current composition of the Parole Board, which in his view lack critical personnel, such as psychologists and criminologists who are better placed to adjudicate this process.
Committee members raised several concerns about the rising numbers of lifers, who have to serve a certain number of years in prison before they are eligible for parole. Committee member Mr Musawenkosi Gasa wryly noted that this rewards patience rather than good behaviour. The Deputy Minister of Correctional Services, Ms Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, replied: “We are damned if we do and damned if we don’t.” This is a legislated matter and all that we do is to follow the prescripts of the law governing paroles. Even so, we continued to be accused of naturing criminals.”
On the issue of remand inmates, the committee Chairperson, Ms Kgomotso Ramolobeng, asked how the department determines the classification of inmates in maximum and supermaxim prisons, when they are still on remand and have not been sentenced.
The Minister explained that there the department considers various security factors before making such a decision. The decision is taken in collaboration with other criminal justice stakeholders that the department could not elaborate on in public, he said.
The Chairperson further urged the department to ensure that inmates participate meaningfully in its rehabilitation programmes. Skills development should be at the centre of the department rehabilitation endeavours, she said. In addition, inmates should receive certificates for participating in these programmes to enable them to secure employment on finishing their sentences.
Ms Ramolobeng also stated that during their oversight visit to correctional centres in the Eastern Cape, the committee found some centres with no creational programmes in place. It was heart-wrenching to see inmates yearning for such programmes, she said, but unable to access them due to either a lack of equipment or qualified correctional officers qualified to undertake such a task. The Chairperson urged the department to start the process of recruiting to fill the funded vacancies and to address the skill shortages in its rehabilitation programmes.
On the department’s other rehabilitation challenges, the Chairperson called for action on the 29 000 parole absconders. She urged the department to improve the capacitation of community corrections programmes to address this problem.
She was equally unimpressed by the allegation that officers who have been found guilty of infractions are often sent to community corrections programmes. She demanded two reports: a recent disciplinary report and report on officers who have recently been seconded to these programmes. She meanwhile welcomed the funding of bracelets to track parolees and to curb the mounting tide of absconders in the system.
Her earlier question on how the department classifies a remand inmate as a security risk when it has not appeared before the court was prompted by a recent court judgement that ruled in favour of an inmate, who was sent to a maximum correctional centre when on remand. The committee was mentioned in this judgement.
The Chairperson emphasised the forthcoming closed session with the department and the Justice ministry should ventilate the circumstances surrounding this judgement and other classified matters, so that no stakeholder in the criminal justice system can hide behind a veil of secrecy.
Abel Mputing
25 February 2026
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