He told Seeng Mokoena, uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) Chief Whip in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), that needs based programmes were administered by DCS psychological, social work and spiritual care services to inmates and those under correctional supervision.

The aim, his response to the Mokoena question reads in part, is to improve psycho-social and emotional wellbeing and assist in rehabilitation and integration into communities. This includes cognitive behaviour, education, skills, recreation, art, culture and sport (SRAC), substance use disorder treatment programmes as well as correctional and pre-release preparation programmes.

Groenewald highlighted three – cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), substance use disorder treatment (SUDT) and skills development/career technical education (CTE) – to further illustrate his response.

CBT programmes are designed to help offenders change patterns of behaviour that led to criminal activity. They provide forms of therapy to address rehabilitative needs—such as criminal thinking and anger management – that, if left unaddressed, can increase the likelihood of recidivism.

SUDT focusses on helping inmates treat substance use disorders, avoid relapsing and re-integrate into society. Unlike other rehabilitation programmes which are voluntary, SUDT requires inmates caught using alcohol or illegal substances while in prison to attend SUDT programmes.

As far as improving rehabilitation programmes is concerned DCD is formalising partnerships with service providers who have own programmes to support rehabilitation by way of memoranda of understanding (MoU) or service level agreements (SLAs). This ensures all DCS programmes are quality assured.

The Department has increased the number of full-time schools that are accredited by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) for deserving young offenders from only one in 2009 to 18 in 2024. The Department has also established partnerships with external stakeholders such as the Departments of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and DBE to support learners.

Career Technical Education, meanwhile, sees training in upholstery, cabinet making, vehicle repair, welding and agriculture, among others.

Additionally 13 DCS non-therapeutic correctional programmes raise awareness, provide information and develop life skills to assist offenders in coping once released.

Pre-release and employment preparation programmes provide employment skills including job readiness and job search techniques, for prisoners up to six months prior to release to assist with “transition into society”.

“The Department also provide offenders with sport, recreation, arts, culture and library programmes. These programmes and services are provisioned in such a manner that they add value to lives of participants and are central to the Rehabilitation Plan of each offender in order to assist them to re-order their lives in a positive manner, taking their social economic and cultural background into account. These programmes aim to provide work opportunities to offenders for keeping them active, provide skills to be gainfully employed upon release,” Groenewald concluded.

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Multiple government and non-government entities came together, coordinated by the National Disaster Management Centre, to ensure the safety of those affected by the unusually inclement weather. Government entities that responded to the snowfall that began on Friday included the South African Police Service (SAPS), N3 Toll Concession, the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral), and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). Non-government entities included ER24, Gift of the Givers, and SARZA (Search and Rescue South Africa).

DCD provided a Sherp vehicle, which, “played a critical role in the rescue efforts,” according to SARZA, which is a volunteer search and rescue organization that makes use of 4×4 owners in South Africa to respond to people whose lives may be in danger. SARZA has regional teams in six of the country’s nine provinces.

The Sherp was used to help clear roads and to deliver food and water to stranded motorists.

“Your support made a huge impact and helped us save lives during the mission,” SARZA said in regard to efforts primarily focused on the Van Reenen Pass on Saturday 21 September, where conditions were “particularly challenging.”

The Sherp multi-purpose amphibious vehicle is offered by DCD for military, search and rescue, mining, private and other applications. It is manufactured by Quadro International. The first vehicle was produced in 2012. In 2018 the company became an official provider for the United Nations and in 2019 received a UN award. More than a thousand vehicles have been sold around the world – most customers are non-private entities, including NGOs and mining companies.

The vehicle comes in several variants. The Sherp UTV was the first model produced, followed by the Sherp Pro in 2017; the Sherp Ark and Sherp Shuttle followed in 2019 and the Sherp N 1200 in 2020. The Sherp Ark adds a 6×6 trailer to the vehicle while the Sherp Shuttle is a boat that can carry and launch two Sherp vehicles.

The Sherp Pro can carry six people or more than 1 000 kg payload. It has a top speed of 40 km/h on land and 6 km/h on water. It can operate in -40 to +40 degree conditions. The Sherp Ark can carry four people in the main vehicle and 18 in the trailer.

The weekend snowfall resulted in the death of a 39-year-old woman who passed away on Saturday while trapped in the blizzard that engulfed the N3 between Van Reenen’s Pass, connecting KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.

Van Reenen’s Pass was reopened to traffic on Sunday 22 September as key routes in Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape were cleared.

The government extended its appreciation to the assistance by humanitarian organisations for the relief they rendered, GCIS said in a statement.

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