A strong smell of dagga greeted members of a parliamentary delegation visiting a juvenile section in the Mthatha Correctional Centre yesterday.
During a presentation later, members of the parliamentary committee on justice and security grilled top brass from the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) on how the banned substance found its way into the cells.
Mergan Chetty, a permanent delegate from KwaZulu-Natal, said government had changed prisons to correctional centres to rehabilitate offenders.
“ was so strong we had to walk out of that section. Clearly it’s not only happening today, it happens everyday.
“How is it that wardens are not aware? It seems as if it’s acceptable. The aim is to correct wrong behaviour, not contribute towards it,” said Chetty.
He further complained about conditions that awaiting trial prisoners found themselves in saying said it was “criminal” and “inhumane” for them to be given cleaning tasks or denied access to decent sanitation before conviction.
After a visit to the medium and remand section, the committee found overcrowding, chronic staff shortages, leaking taps, dilapidated infrastructure and a lack of adequate medical services.
Regional commissioner Nkosinathi Breakfast said vacant posts would be filled before the end of the year.
He said employees were leaving the department monthly through resignations, retirements, transfers or deaths.
Breakfast revealed there was a 132% overcrowding rate in the remand section while the medium section housed 1324 inmates instead of the 720 it was supposed to accommodate.
Remand detainees were in jail for longer because they could not afford bail or had multiple arrest warrants.
The committee also heard that mentally ill prisoners shared the same cells with normal inmates leading to fights and acts of vandalism of infrastructure at the 40-year old facility.
Committee members from all nine provinces, public works officials, researchers, Legal Aid representatives, the National Prosecuting Authority and parole board members joined the visit.
National Council of Provinces member Thabiso Wana from the OR Tambo region described it as “unbecoming” to have vacant posts although budgets had been approved.
The Police, Prisons and Civil Rights Union’s Mzwabantu Velelo called for the appointment of a permanent area commissioner, the re-training of officials and more recruitment of new staff. Reacting to the findings, committee chairman Dumisani Ximbi said both ministers of public works and correctional services had to answer.
“We need to know what is the plan for this situation and we want to see those plans implemented. We want speedy change,” said Ximbi.
Breakfast said some of the findings were not new.
“The visit will assist us because we want the national leadership and parliament to pay attention. The challenges hamper service delivery,” Breakfast said. — loyisom@dispatch.co.za