Parliament, Thursday, 23 October 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services received a briefing yesterday from the Department of Correctional Services on, among other things, corrective measures to sort out the issue of supplies relating to the centralisation of procurement and long-term contracts and an update from the Minister on the commitment he made to review the price of bread procured for correctional centres across the country.
The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Kgomotso Ramolobeng, explained that following the public outcry about the price of bread, the committee thought it prudent to engage with the department on the measures it has put in place to address this concern. She asked the department to take the committee through its revised service level agreements with contractors to provide bread to correctional centres.
Minister Dr Pieter Groenewald said that the revised flat rate of the price of bread would limit the possibility of price collusion. He reported that the new negotiated price category for bread, effective as of 1 October, will save the department R11 million annually.
The committee commended the department’s swift move in this regard, but reiterated that more needs to be done. It said the department should initiate an internal investigation to ascertain if there had been collusion between service providers and departmental officials leading to the inflated bread price. In addition, there should be consequences for this deliberate and costly financial discrepancy.
Ms Ramolobeng said that the price inflation must be investigated to determine if there was any involvement of a third force. This is because during the committee’s oversight visit to Qalakabusha Correctional Centre, the committee heard that the centre’s bakery was not functional because equipment specifications were incorrect.
Minister Dr Groenewald made a commitment that the department would fix bakeries that have the necessary equipment but are not yet fully functional. He cited some of the challenges leading to these delays and also noted that the previous price of bread was partially arrived at because the department was regarded as the consumer not a retailer.
The committee also heard about AG’s adverse findings on the awarding of non-complaint contracts to companies that have outstanding tax issues. To mitigate these findings, the department told the committee that it has decided to centralise its procurement system based on short-term contracts as a means to improve its compliance with the Public Finance Management Act and its various statutes.
Ms Ramolobeng commended the department for having a six-month review clause in its service level agreement with service providers, which allows it to renegotiate with bidders on bread pricing and not just take an inflated price.
Ms Ramolobeng urged the department to ensure that bakeries are fully functional, especially at Pietermaritzburg and Qalakabusha correctional centres, because they are complete and equipped, although they still lack some equipment, which is preventing them from becoming fully operational.
The committee welcomed the internal investigations into alleged collusion in fixing the price of bread and online managers of officials who should be blamed for delays in ensuring that the correctional services are fully operational. Ms Ramolobeng urged the department to inform the committee about the timelines on the completion of investigations and on the full functionality of the bakeries.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, MS KGOMOTSO ANTHEA RAMOLOBENG.
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