Parliament, Wednesday, 19 November 2025 – The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development briefed the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services yesterday on measures to address the challenges of remand detainees awaiting trial for more than two years, and the rollout of the Audio-Visual Remand System and reasons for the low success rate of section 63A applications submitted by the Department of Correctional Services as a measure to reduce overcrowding.
The committee welcomed the briefings and appreciated the availability of the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development to the committee for engagement on the issue of overcrowding at correctional centres, among other things.
The committee also encouraged collaboration between the two departments to address issues affecting Remand Detainees as well as reducing overcrowding. It highlighted the failure of the judiciary on the increasing overcrowding at correctional centres. The short time used by magistrates who sometimes spend only an hour at court was cited.
The lack of the implementation of the existing provisions of legislation was also highlighted as contributing to overcrowding at correctional centres, and the underutilisation of section 63A and the Criminal Procedure Act to be reviewed.
The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Kgomotso Ramolobeng, called on the acceleration of the rollout of the Audio-Visual Remand (AVR) System, to increase the number of the AVR courts to alleviate backlogs and reducing risk of escape of prisoners. She urged the department to ensure that offender labour is used for the empowerment of offenders. She said the committee should be appraised on that in the form of quarterly reports on the progress of the ARV rollout.
On the issue of 13406 sentenced foreign nationals with 12037 remind detainees at the South African correctional facilities, Ms Ramolobeng, said those who are sentenced should be deported to their countries where they should undergo their sentences. She called on both departments to be driven by a commitment to reduction of overcrowding at correctional facilities.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, MS KGOMOTSO ANTHEA RAMOLOBENG.
For media enquiries and interview with the chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Mava Lukani (Mr)
Cell: 081 503-1840
E-mail: mlukani@parliament.gov.za
Arrange a tour