The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services began a week-long oversight programme in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) to evaluate the effectiveness of regulations, policies, and operational practices governing correctional facilities. The primary intention of the visits is to assess prison conditions, rehabilitation programmes, and management efficiency, while identifying potential areas for legislative reform in the Correctional Services Act.
The committee commenced its oversight at Kokstad Medium Correctional Centre and eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Centre, which saw members conduct an inspection of facilities and engage with officials on critical operational issues. Committee Chairperson Ms. Kgomotso Ramolobeng stated the visits were vital in ensuring correctional centres are managed correctly and operating within the framework of the law.
“We are all at work to get clarity about what we are contracted to do as a committee and the Department of Correctional Services,” said Ramolobeng. “We are in the province to get assurance that the correctional facilities are run the way they should be run.”
During their visit to Kokstad Medium Correctional Centre, the committee raised serious concerns around the facility’s kitchen, which has been operating with a non-compliant certificate since 2020. Ramolobeng called for immediate action to rectify the issue and ensure food safety standards are met, stating, “the department should ensure that the Kokstad Medium Correctional Centre’s kitchen is compliant to meet the required food safety standards.”
At eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Centre, the facility was commended for maintaining a contraband-free status and committee members urged other correctional centres to adopt similar measures to combat the ongoing smuggling of illegal goods.
A key issue raised by the committee was the delayed appointment of personnel for critical operational roles. Ramolobeng called for further immediate action to fill funded but vacant positions, emphasising the instability created by prolonged delay in appointments.
“We can’t continue to have people acting in critical operational positions indefinitely. Such critical posts must be filled with immediate effect, and the department must give us timeframes; we can’t make acting a normality,” she stated.
The Department of Correctional Services has been tasked with developing a turnaround strategy to address these outstanding concerns, including facility compliance, staffing shortages, and overall management inefficiencies.
The committee will continue its oversight programme , with the next visit scheduled to take place at Pietermaritzburg Med A and Med B correctional centres, with further assessments planned for the remainder of the week.
