The Department of Correctional Services has appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services to discuss the issues of correctional supervision and parole boards in South Africa.

During the engagement, the department told the committee that currently, the country only has 52 correctional supervision and parole boards (CSPB) to consider offenders who could be placed on parole and correctional supervision.

Furthermore, the department revealed that during the 2022/23 year financial year, at least 85 inmates applied for medical parole. Twenty-two of them died while awaiting finalisation of their applications, four were released on normal parole, 43 were successful in their applications, while 13 were not recommended.

“We have raised concerns. We noted that vacancies exist in some of these boards, which could be a contributing factor. The department will furnish us with further information we require,” Committee Chairperson Kgomotso Ramolobeng said.

The committee raised concerns about the medical parole of some inmates, who went on to live healthy lives years later.

The department acknowledged that such exceptional cases do occur and committed that it would provide statistics to the committee in that regard.

“The department will provide us with the statistics of such matters, but they have assured us in the meantime that that figure is generally low. We will engage once we receive the information requested,” Ramolobeng said.