Autumn | 2017
ISSN 2312-4393
C
or
r e c t ions@WOR K
Ke
epin
g D C S s t a f f i n fo r m e d & i n s p i
re d
OCCUPATIONAL
HEALTH AND
SAFETY, too
costly to ignore
LEAD AND BE
LED, recipe for
success
One of the last
LOCKSMITHS
in DCS
PLUS!
Corrections@WORK 1
The President’s Award • SALUTE THE ARTISAN
Autumn | 2017
Contents
ISSN 2312-4393
C
or
r e c t ions@WOR K
Ke
epin
g D C S s t a f f i n fo r m e d & i n s p i
re d
OCCUPATIONAL
HEALTH AND
SAFETY, too
costly to ignore
Autumn 2017
LEAD AND BE
LED, recipe for
success
Management
One of the last
10Lifers’ task team takes bull by the horns
12Automated inmate information system will relieve
officials’ workload
19Internal Control at centre of eliminating audit
findings
22 Occupational health and safety, too costly to
ignore
31 Corrections best practices showcased at UN
meeting
LOCKSMITHS
in DCS
PLUS!
Corrections@WORK 1
The President’s Award • SALUTE THE ARTISAN
12
Growing our People
4One of the last locksmiths in DCS
6Salute the artisan: department secures patent
rights over sanitary pad machine
32Cardio Karate brings fitness back to Baviaanspoort
14
Know your DCS
29CAREER GUIDANCE ROADSHOWS reach correctional
centres
34Water shortage ends at Barberton Management
Area
35Zonderwater’s departed officials
remembered
35First halfway house launched in
Free State & Northern Cape
6
27
Special Reports
14Connecting HEARTS, MINDS and
HANDS of incarcerated youth
Profiles
16TRIBUTE: Mamma Loff … an
exceptional correctional
official and outstanding
President’s Award
Leader
24Lead and be led,
recipe for success
27Man of the year is
community builder
par excellence
2 Corrections@WORK
EDITORIAL
C
or
r e c t ions@WOR K
Ke
epin
g D C S s t a f f i n fo r m e d & i n s p i
re d
.........................................................................................
Corrections@WORK is the national staff
magazine of the Department of Correctional
Services, Republic of South Africa
.........................................................................................
PATRON: National Commissioner, Zach
Modise
.........................................................................................
EDITORIAL TEAM
Editor in Chief: Deputy Commissioner
Communications
EDITOR: Estelle Coetzee
WRITERS: Neliswa Mzimba, Samantha
Ramsewaki, Solly Mashabela (also subeditor), Tiyani Sambo
LAYOUT EDITOR: Nathan van den Bergh
CONTRIBUTORS: Aubrey Ratsoma (back
page), Kieron Reddy, Janine Hansen,
Mocheta Monama, Mesia Hlungwani,
Mashudu Mutamba, Kgopolelo Jabanyane.
.........................................................................................
Published by the Department of
Correctional Services, Private Bag X136,
Pretoria 0001.
.........................................................................................
Repro and printing facilitated by the
Government Printers, Pretoria.
Healthy
organisational
culture starts at
home
C
olleagues, in the previous
edition I wrote about how
unproductive behaviour in
the workplace can permeate through to a person’s
personal and social life, and be the
cause of quite an unremarkable
life. In this edition we carry two
articles on responsible fatherhood,
and they tie in loosely with the
notion of a father’s role in forming
upright, responsible and hardworking children who carry the same
qualities into their adulthood and
subsequent work life.
.........................................................................................
The opinions expressed in Corrections@
WORK are those of the authors and do not
necessarily represent those of the editor
or the Department of Correctional Services.
The editor reserves the right to alter any
contribution or not to publish it.
.........................................................................................
Letters can be e-mailed to:
[email protected]
The editor reserves the right to shorten or
reject letters.
.........................................................................................
Copyright is reserved on all material in this
publication. Permission has to be sought in
writing.
A colleague remarked the other
day, saying: “How come the running
horses are being flogged, while the
resting horses are being put out to
pasture to rest further?” She made
a very good point because if that is
a prevailing organisational culture,
that workplace will be characterised by disharmony, divisive behav-
iour, gossip (because people have
too much time on their hands) and
accusations.
How attractive can such a workplace be to young, energetic, driven
individuals who want to make a
mark in life? A fact is also that
when the organisational culture
tolerates individuals who are
dishonest in their performance
assessments, who become enraged
when their supervisor pressurises
them to become more productive,
and who think they should have
impunity when they do not comply
to policies and regulations, it is a
sad and tragic situation.
Another person who recently
crossed my path mentioned that
she moved from the private sector
to a government department a few
months ago as an IT risk manager.
The hardest thing she had to become accustomed to was the slow
pace at which her new colleagues
worked. She said she also had the
horrible realisation that should she
stay too long in the public sector,
the private sector would not easily
take her back into their fold. That is
quite a comment, isn’t it?
Wouldn’t it be awesome if each
hardworking, responsible and
accountable correctional official
positively influences ten others
to emulate the characteristics of
the ideal correctional official as
espoused in the White Paper on
Corrections, Chapter 8?
Est elle Coet zee
Corrections@WORK 3
ONE OF THE LAST
LOCKSMITHS
in DCS
BY KIERON REDDY
AT EASE WITH HIMSELF AND THE WORLD: Repairing
locks has become second nature to Malibongwe
Mfenyana.
4 Corrections@WORK
T
he well-known personality
is Mr Malibongwe Mfenyana of Pollsmoor Management Area.
“For eight years my family waited for my arrival, eight long
years without a son, and then I was
born, that’s where it all began,” says
53-year old Mfenyana.
Born in Cape Town, he was the
youngest of five children and the
only son to his parents. “Being the
only boy was a blessing, that is why
my name is Malibongwe (meaning
“Praise his name”, in isiXhosa), it
was their way of glorifying God for
blessing them with a son,” he says
with sparkling eyes.
Mfenyana grew up in Ngqamakhwe, Eastern Cape, while both his
parents worked blue collar jobs in
the greater Cape Town hinterland.
Mfenyana took an interest in fixing
things at an early age. “I was always
repairing stuff in and outside the
house. I was the only boy remember, so I didn’t have a choice,” he
chirps.
He began his career in DCS
in 1997. After completing basic
training at Kroonstad College, he
returned to Cape Town and was stationed at Pollsmoor’s maximum security centre, which is the Remand
Detention Centre today. “Working
in prison back then was tough. In
those days the notorious number
gangs were at war with one another
and violent crimes were committed
daily. We, as officials, had no choice
but to stand together,” he recalls.
“It was around that time that
unit management was conceptualised. We saw the benefits of it in a
practical way, such as classifying
offenders on their security status
and raising awareness about gang
affiliations.”
In 2007, after 10 years of service
inside the centre, Mfenyana was
nominated to attend a locksmith
course in Pretoria, and his career as
an artisan began. The training was
extensive and he learned to repair
and maintain locks but also how to
build them. He joined the maintenance division upon his return and
that is where he is still plying his
trade.
Mfenyana points out the various
sections in the workshop, from radio repairs, metal pressing and the
gunsmith’s section although there
isn’t a gunsmith. His own work
benches are a collector’s heaven as
they are laden with the inner pieces
of all manner of locks. The brass
parts glimmer in the light of the
small desk lamps on each table. It is
only when one’s eyes rest a while
on the different components that an
subtle order to the seemingly cha-
otic array of parts become evident.
“The tiny bits and pieces all serve
a purpose, you see?” he asks while
demonstrating how he repairs a
large grill gate lock.
Some time during the conversation
Mfenyana points to his locksmith
certificate, which hangs above his
work station, as if to affirm his
expertise. Over the past 10 years,
there has been an alarming exodus
of artisans within DCS, thus resulting in a skills shortage, which isn’t
exclusively a DCS challenge but a
national one. Part of the reason for
this exodus is the number of artisans who opt for early retirement,
which in many cases has proven
to be ill advised. But Mfenyana is
not going to follow their example,
he declares. He would be content
to see his last years through at the
management area he loves dearly.
Parting ways, Mfenyana readies
his toolbox, straps it to his bicycle
and rides off to where his services
are needed next. The department
is privileged to have members such
as Mfenyana who serves with pride
and who is not only willing to go
the distance in delivering excellent
service, but who is also willing to
ride it, literally!
Malibongwe Mfenyana points proudly to his locksmith certificate that adorns his workplace wall.
Corrections@WORK 5
GROWING OUR PEOPLE
The boom gate of the access control swings up and
an official dressed in browns rides through on his
mountain bike. Equipped with his toolbox, a pair
of shades and earphones, he makes his way to the
workshop where he plies his trade as a locksmith,
greeting fellow colleagues on the way.
INVENTOR AND MARKETER: Johan Piek, the inventor of the machine and Ruth Masilela, Manager Workshop Operations at Head Office, who worked
towards patenting the machine.
Salute the
ARTISAN:
department secures patent
rights over sanitary pad
machine
BY SAMANTHA RAMSEWAKI
More than 2.1 million school girls in South Africa
between the ages 12 and 18 live below the poverty
line.
6 Corrections@WORK
T
o these girls a sanitary
pad is a luxury item. They
resort to using old cloth,
newspapers and leaves
when it is that time of the
month. They are also likely to miss
about 60 school days in a year.
Johan Piek, an artisan in the boiler making and welding trade is an
innovator with the mental aptitude
for mechanic marvels. The 41-year
old correctional official has spent
his entire DCS career in the workshops at Leeuwkop Management
Area, close to Johannesburg.
Nominated by the Directorate
Production Workshops and Agriculture in 2012 to a national task
team, Piek and others were tasked
to solve the constant malfunctioning of the sanitary pad machines
the department purchased a year
earlier.
- Cynthia Lepule,
Director Production Workshops
and Agriculture
Offenders test Piek’s machine in the production workshop at Leeuwkop.
The machines were at the female correctional centres in East
London, Thohoyandou and Durban.
The intention was that female
offenders in these centres would
produce sanitary pads and that
surplus production would reach
poor women in the communities.
Apart from malfunctioning, the
machines, when working, produced
a rectangular shaped product,
instead of a curved shaped pad.
The sanitary pad was sealed off
with a heated wire cutting process
which left hard edges that caused
discomfort to the user.
The average women has about
468 menstrual cycles in her lifetime. A sanitary pad that causes
skin abrasion and discomfort is the
last thing a woman would want to
tolerate.
With his wife pregnant at the
time, Piek would put on his proverbial thinking cap in the bath each
night, laying there thinking about
how he could better the machines.
Having identified the mechanical problems, Piek gathered ideas
about how to improve the operating parts.
“I bought a variety of sanitary
pads and together with my wife we
examined each. The experience of
cutting them open and comparing
their composition was somewhat
awkward,” Piek chuckled.
He started to develop a new
machine, tested several prototypes, and refined it until the final
machine was ready a year later.
Piek’s new machine reduced the
manufacturing of one pad to a single minute. He kept the mechanics
simple and it works without elec-
The low cost machine has unique features and a
provisional patency has been granted.
tronics. Each pad uses six grams
of wood pulp which is compressed
and sealed over with protective
sheeting.
In 2015, Ruth Masilela, Manager
Workshop Operations at National
Office approached the Companies
and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), seeking guidance on
how to patent Piek’s sanitary pad
machine. The department’s legal
services were engaged to secure a
patent.
The CIPC conducted research in
which 15 countries were engaged
on the machine type and mechanical functioning. Piek’s low
cost machine was confirmed to
have unique features. A 12-month
provisional patency was awarded.
In October 2016, full patent rights
were granted. The department now
owns its own sanitary pad machine
which costs less than a quarter of
the purchase price of the machines
bought in 2011 (which cost about
R200 000 per set).
Director Production Workshops
and Agriculture, Cynthia Lepule
said, “The achievements of
Leeuwkop production workshops
with the sanitary pad machine
speak volumes about artisans
in DCS. We take pride in the
dedication and passion of our
artisans.”
She said DCS is negotiating with
the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities
about the possibility of getting poor women involved in the
manufacturing of sanitary pads as
community projects, using Piek’s
machine.
Corrections@WORK 7
GROWING OUR PEOPLE
“The achievements of
Leeuwkop production
workshops with the
sanitary pad machine
speaks volumes about
artisans in DCS. We take
pride in the dedication
and passion of our
artisans.”
missioner Facilities, and six regional
heads facilities have since been appointed on director’s level.
MANAGEMENT
Turnaround Strategic Session
Deputy Commissioner Facilities, Sifiso Mdakane (right), and Director Professional Services, Dekha
Katenga, met with stakeholders to fast-track the acquisition of a new head office.
Department
bolsters facilities
management
BY SOLLY MASHABELA
Capable human resources is often mentioned as
the core ingredient for the department to achieve
its key objectives. However, if facilities such as
buildings and machinery in which and with which
workers fulfil their duties are in a state of disrepair,
the harder it will be to achieve success.
A
lthough the department’s facilities are
not all in disrepair,
renovations of many are
overdue. This status not
only applies to correctional centres,
but also to offices.
The effectiveness of the Department of Public Works, who is the
custodian of all state facilities, has a
direct impact on a department such
as DCS, which has extensive facili-
8 Corrections@WORK
ties across the country. Reflecting on
the state of DCS facilities in January 2016 at a staff meeting, National
Commissioner Zach Modise told officials that the department will revive
its build programme and the practice of having its own maintenance
teams. He spoke about enabling the
Chief Directorate Facilities at Head
Office to discharge its functions optimally, and that two engineers were
already hired. A new Deputy Com-
The Chief Directorate held a twoday Strategic Planning session on 16
and 17 February 2017 to take stock
of facility-related issues. Many
directorates made presentations on
the challenges they faced, which
included leaking roofs, mould on
walls, flaking paint, cracked walls,
water under buildings, broken fences
causing livestock theft, broken cctv
cameras, lack of dedicated spaces for
professionals such as nurses, social
workers and psychiatrists, and debilitating noise levels in centres.
DC Facilities, Sifiso Mdakane, said
it was commonly known that overcrowding ought to be tackled most
keenly at the biggest centres (known
as the Big 5), which are Johannesburg, St Albans, Durban, Pollsmoor
and Kgoši Mampuru. He said incarceration conditions at the biggest
management areas caused most
lawsuits against the department and
they were the subject of most negative reports by oversight bodies and
pressure groups.
The National Overcrowding Task
Team has recommended that a new
correctional centre be built in the
magisterial area served by Pollsmoor to alleviate overcrowding.
Other projects envisaged to alleviate
overcrowding in areas served by the
Big 5 management areas are construction of new centres in Durban,
East London, and Johannesburg, and
renovating the unused Medium A
and B at Pietermaritzburg. In the
meantime, fixing the water problems
at Johannesburg, St. Albans, Durban
and Kokstad are in the pipeline, with
preliminary assessments completed.
He said the Building Advisory
Committee, which considers submissions from regions and head
office to develop the national build
programme, will be guided by such
priorities when it considers the
construction of new correctional
centres.
Currently contractors are on site
at Estcourt, Standerton, C-Max,
Matatiele and Tzaneen correctional
centres for repairs and upgrades that
Unused bed spaces
The chief directorate recently took
stock of cells that are not used due
to varying reasons such as being in
a dilapidated state or being used as
store rooms. There were over 2 400
unused bed spaces. Local maintenance teams consisting of officials
and offenders could possibly make
many of these cells habitable.
There are about 110 qualified electricians, consisting of officials and
offenders, in the department. There
are also 85 plumbers and 111 welders.
However, artisans abandoning their
trade to work as security officials
were a worrying occurrence. Security officials earn more than most
artisans.
Waste and water management
The department has been found
non-compliant to environmental
and water use legislation because it
lacked a policy framework to deal
with water purification and waste
management. The state of kitchens
in many centres was worrying. The
challenges related to kitchens, boilers and other specialised equipment
are currently addressed by the National Kitchen Upgrade Programme
(NKUP) and National Boiler Rehabilitation Programme.
Security matters
A discussion at the session demonstrated how a facility issue become a
security issue and ultimately, a human resource issue. Director Agriculture and Production Workshops,
Cynthia Lepule, spoke about livestock theft in one region that was
caused by damaged fences. Extra
security officials had to be deployed
to stop the stock theft.
Chief Security Officer, Gcinumzi
Ntlakana, said security infrastructure should not only be designed
with a delinquent offender in mind,
but also with a delinquent official
in mind as officials also damage
the department’s infrastructure.
He reflected that facilities refer to
more than buildings and also include technology such as automated
doors and gates, which, should more
of these be installed, will release
human resources to fulfill functions
other than unlocking and locking
gates.
The current cost-cutting measures
are also being felt by facility managers. A new priority is to lease state
buildings instead of private buildings for office space, for example. A
case in point was that Emalahleni’s
Area Commissioner’s office will
relocate to the correctional centre
to save on leasing costs.
1. Minister Michael Masutha, National Commissioner Zach Modise and DC Facilities Sifiso Mdakane
convened at Tzaneen Correctional Centre to ascertain progress to get the new centre signed over to
DCS.
2. The new Tzaneen Correctional Centre is kitted out with electronic access gates.
3. The new Tzaneen Correctional Centre has been vandalised because the previous contractor was
liquidated before the facility was completed and it was left unattended for a number of years. A new
company is currently on site to complete the centre.
1
2
3
Corrections@WORK 9
MANAGEMENT
will result in 1 564 additional bed
spaces. Construction work will also
continue in Vanrhynsdorp and Ceres
to add to the bed space.
Mdakane asked regional heads
facilities, most of whom were recently appointed, to go back to their
regional Building Advisory Committees and influence decisions related
to build projects so that resources
are optimally used in areas that are
priorities.
MANAGEMENT
The Lifers’ task team during their work at Kgosi Mampuru and a few local psychologists who supported the team with administration.
First row from left: Zodwa Radebe, Kgomotso Masokoane, Shonitha Harripersadh-Govender, Director Psychological Services, Dr Kgamadi Kometsi,
Mbalenhle Mthembu, Pebetse Matabane and Kim McKay.
Second row: Pearl Viljoen, Justine Smith, Shane Govender, Kanyiswa Mzimkulu, Holly Van Rooyen, Phile Monica Moller, Sheila Da Silva, Karmini Balwanth
and Kelly McGiven.
Third row: Mona-Marique Dreyer, Jaco Van Zyl, John Swart, Aadiel Adams and Sotirios Short. Lifers’ Task
Team takes bull
by the horns
BY NELISWA MZIMBA
The predicament faced by lifers (offenders with life
sentences) who have to wait long for their parole
applications to be considered may soon be a thing
of the past.
A
task team, called Lifers’
Task Team, was formed
to unblock issues that
caused backlogs of lifers’ consideration for
parole.
Seventeen psychologists, from all
six regions, are part of the task team.
They worked at Kgoši Mampuru II
Management Area from 6 to 11 February 2017 to complete risk assess-
10 Corrections@WORK
ment reports for lifers that are to be
considered for placement on parole.
The task team is targeting management areas that have the biggest backlog. The deployment of
psychologists depended on proposals submitted to head office by the
regions. Director Psychological
Services, Dr Kgamadi Kometsi who
heads the Lifers Task Team said the
team comprises of psychologists
from all six regions and the hosting
region is required to deploy at least
five. The team is required to have a
minimum of 10 psychologists with a
target of 50 reports in one week of
their visit.
During their visit to Barberton
Management Area in Limpopo,
Mpumalanga and North West region,
the team compiled reports for 57
lifers that were due for consideration. Their second port of call was
Mthatha, Eastern Cape region in
November 2016 where they finalised
61 assessments. Kgoši Mampuru II
was the third management area to be
visited and the team reached their
target of 60 reports. The focus is on
lifers who have been due longest.
Kometsi said although many factors
contributed to the backlog, there are
not enough psychologists in DCS and
therefore the backlog related to their
work is extensive. “The one psychologist at Mthatha Management
Area, for example, cannot even dent
the backlog of the management area
when working alone,” he said. Mthatha currently has 200 lifers due for
consideration.
The risk assessment report done
by psychologists is valid for only 12
Director Psychological Services, Dr Kgamadi
Kometsi briefs the 17 psychologists about what
was expected from them.
months because risk factors that are
considered during the assessment
are susceptible to changes in the environment of offenders. This means
that if the process further down the
value chain is slow, psychologists
may have to redo some assessment
reports. Dr Kometsi acknowledged
that remedies for unblocking the
the bane of our existence?
increase
413%
increase
141%
increase
Offenders
sentenced to 15
and 20 years
2003/04
2015/16
Offenders
sentenced to more
than 20 years
2003/04
2015/16
lifers could be considered for parole
after serving 13 years.
At the time, about 424 lifers immediately qualified for parole consideration but the number continued
to grow. The resulting workload was
beyond the available resources of the
department. As of 27 January 2017,
about 2 000 so-called Van Wyk lifers
have been considered or were in the
process of consideration. Another
4 000 Van Wyk lifers are due for consideration. The department continues
to deal with the backlog to this day.
I
OVERCROWDING:
439%
During their visit to Barberton
Management Area in Limpopo,
Mpumalanga and North West
region, the team compiled
reports for 57 lifers that
were due for consideration.
Their second port of call was
Mthatha, Eastern Cape region
in November 2016 where they
finalised 61 assessments.
Offenders
sentenced to life
sentences
2003/04
2015/16
n the next edition of Corrections@
Work the editorial team will explore the many facets of overcrowded correctional centres.
South Africa’s incarceration trends
are alarming. Shorter term sentences keep on decreasing while
long term sentences are sky rocketing. Sentences up to six months
have decreased with 28% in the past
13 years (2003-2016). Sentences of
between six and 12 months have
decreased with 51%, whilst 12 to 24
months sentences plummeted by
71% in the past 13 years.
The dark side of the coin is revealed with figures that read like the
script of a horror movie. Sentences
between 10 and 15 years increased
by 77%, whilst sentences between 15
and 20 years swelled by 141% in the
same time period. But the punchline is left for last: the number of
offenders who received sentences
of longer than 20 years spiked with
a 439% increase between 2003 and
2016, whilst life sentences grew by
413%.
Corrections@WORK 11
MANAGEMENT
backlog should be holistic.
Director Correction Administration, Johan Engelbrecht, said
members of the Case Management
Committees (CMCs), which are central in compiling offenders’ profiles,
are continuously being equipped to
ensure competency, but they are still
under resourced. Currently the CMCs
are functioning at a ratio of one CMC
to 720 offenders. A newly approved
structure of one CMC for 480 offenders is still to be implemented and
depends on the availability of funds.
To improve the workflow, CMCs frequently retrieve computer-generated
lists of those who can be considered
for parole.
According to the 2015/16 annual
report, 96.52% of all offenders eligible for parole consideration were
considered.
However, the recent increase of
lifers who are due for consideration
is due to the seminal Van Wyk court
judgement. In 2011, the North Gauteng High Court ruled that lifers who
were sentenced before 1 October
2004 were entitled to benefit from
the older “credit system” in which
Automated inmate
information
system will relieve
officials’ workload
Virtual technology is no longer a luxury, but a
necessity in almost all spheres of life. The benefits
of seamless technology in a security environment
such as DCS, where information about tens of
thousands of inmates changes every day, are huge.
Richard Britz from Johannesburg Management
Area getting to grips with the IIMS during the
system’s testing at Head Office.
12 Corrections@WORK
T
he Integrated Inmate
Management System,
aptly known as IIMS, seeks
to replace manual and
fragmented processes of
capturing and updating information
about inmates across the DCS business environment.
It is a world class system that can
positively change the work of many
coalface officials, inform managers
to make better decisions, and help
inmates settle quicker into their new
environment.
The IIMS will provide an integrated
centralised inmate database, and
agile inmate management solutions
for use and benefit to DCS and other
departments in the Justice, Crime
Prevention and Security cluster
(JCPS).
The IIMS is designed to provide
a single view of inmate information based on biometric identification. Officials will be able to see
an offender’s transfer history, his
re-admission into the system (if
applicable), all active warrants and
his incarceration history, thereby
enabling them to make informed
decisions and curtail instances of
identity fraud and erroneous releases. An inmate’s demographic data,
for example nationality and age will
also be captured and verified.
The system can capture a new in-
mate’s fingerprints quickly, and verify
whether an inmate is already known
by the system, thereby speeding
up the admission process. An IIMS
mobile device will create flexibility
in places where computer infrastructure is not available and will allow
for additional points of verification,
such as sorting inmates on admission into new and re-admissions,
verifying inmates being released to
court, and recording daily unlock and
lockup numbers.
The IIMS will record the capacity of each correctional centre, but
also the occupancy of each cell of a
centre and the occupancy rate can
be viewed at centre level and higher
levels. It is therefore also a useful
overcrowding management tool. The
IIMS management dashboard will
provide a national picture of overcrowding with indicators reflecting
the levels of overcrowding in each
centre and alert decision makers
who will be able to implement corrective measures.
IIMS comes with a comprehensive
Cash Management module which
advances the department towards a
cashless environment, thus eliminating corruption within correctional
centres.
IIMS will enable the automation
and integration of the entire Inmate Management Process, thereby
ensuring transparency in managing,
monitoring, projections and decision making through all stages of an
inmate’s time in DCS.
IIMS will also make it possible for
key role players such as the Minister,
Parole Boards and Case Management
Committees to readily access offender profiles, thereby eliminating
delays in processing parole documentation. The key Parole Consideration tool (G326 Profile) is fully
automated in IIMS, and information
is progressively added throughout
the rehabilitation process. This will
ensure that accurate and complete
information is promptly available for
parole consideration.
When implementation is complete,
the IIMS will interface with the Integrated Justice System (IJS) Trans-
IN A NUTSHELL
IIMS automates and integrates
the entire Inmate Management
Lifecycle by providing
process transparency at all
of the stages to all relevant
stakeholders. It makes holistic
managing, monitoring, and
decision making about inmate
security, rehabilitation and
their reintegration into
society easier because Case
Management Administrators
have all the correct and
relevant information at their
disposal.
versal Hub and thereby enabling the
use of information across government departments. This will improve
information sharing among cluster
departments.
1. Shawn Muldowney from Kgoši Mampuru II Management Area sees on the system how inmates will be identified using the IIMS biometric system.
2. Phathutshedzo Mulaudzi demonstrates how the fingerprint identification functions.
1
2
Corrections@WORK 13
MANAGEMENT
The system can
capture a new inmate’s
fingerprints quickly,
and verify whether
an inmate is already
known by the system,
thereby speeding up the
admission process.
SPECIAL REPORT
Connecting
HEARTS, MINDS
and HANDS of
incarcerated youth
BY JANINE HANSEN
“It was almost an obsession for me to show negative
officials in DCS, that inmates who get involved in
programmes such as the President’s Award, can turn their
lives around. The Programme is different from any other
rehabilitation programme in correctional centres. It opens
doors for inmates … literally. It’s about trust in you as
a young person. Looking back, the greatest impact the
Programme had on my life was the direction it gave me.
I would never have ended up in the career I am in now.”
- Testimony of Errol de Souza, Oct 2012
Youth offenders (with bicycle helmets) who participated in the Break the Cycle of
Crime bicycle tour in 2015 mingle with secondary school youth along the route.
14 Corrections@WORK
E
very night, more than 55
000 young people in South
Africa, between the ages
of 14 and 25, are sleeping
in a correctional centre or
secure care centre. The President’s
Award (TPA) for Youth Empowerment has an exemplary track
record in working with incarcerated youth and helping them to
turn their lives around. Starting
off as a pilot project in one DCS
facility in the Eastern Cape in 1994,
in which 20 inmates participated,
has grown in the past 22 years to
reach more than 35 000 in over 60
correctional centres in 8 of the 9
provinces. Participation in TPA is
a life-changing experience, helping young people to discover their
purpose, develop their character
and realise their true potential.
The award programme complements the White Paper on Corrections in South Africa, as well as
the rehabilitation path for offenders. The testimony of an inmate
who completed his Bronze and
Silver Award in Baviaanspoort’s
Emthonjeni Correctional Centre, reflects the significant impact of the
Award: “During my incarceration I
SPECIAL REPORT
2
1
3
1. Award Leader, Kobus Swart of Robertson Correctional Centre, leads the pack of offender cyclists on their 240km journey.
2. Regional Commissioner of Western Cape, Delekile Klaas, an avid supporter of the President’s Award’s implementation in his region, with Monwabisi
Nteyiya, a gold award recipient who completed the first Robertson bicycle tour held in 2015.
3. The Break the Cycle of Crime campaign logo, painted onto a banner by a youth offender.
have done a lot of programmes, but
none of them is better than TPA.
The programme has had a remarkable impact on my life. I never
thought something like this could
humble someone as selfish and arrogant as I was”.
The Award was introduced in DCS
in 1994 when the then president,
Nelson Mandela, requested the
roll out of the Award within correctional centres. St Albans correctional centre in Port Elizabeth
enrolled the first group of inmates
and 14 of the initial group of 20
completed the programme. One of
those participants, Errol De Souza,
joined TPA after his release and
later became the National Coordinator of the Award in DCS.
First in the world
What is remarkable, is that South
Africa was the first country to
implement the Award in a correctional centre. Today, many countries around the world, have been
inspired by the success achieved in
South Africa and followed suit by
enrolling inmates in the Award.
The Award has proven to be an
effective rehabilitation tool and
inspires DCS officials to use it to
change the lives of many incarcerated youth through activities such
as skills development, community
service, physical recreation and an
adventurous journey.
Every year, more than 40 correctional centres enrol young people
in the Award. Many initiatives,
activities and projects are organised as part of the Award, but there
is one unique initiative that was
started in the Western Cape.
Another first
In Sept 2015, Kobus Swart, from
Robertson Correctional Centre, embarked on an extraordinary project,
called Break the Cycle of Crime
(BCC) cycling event. Thirteen inmates, all Gold Award participants
from Robertson and five officials,
cycled 240 kilometres through the
Langeberg region of the Western
Cape. En route they stopped at
schools and communities to:
• share their personal life stories
and the choices they made that
landed them in prison
• inform young people about the
risk factors that contribute to
crime
The Award was
introduced in DCS in
1994 when the then
president, Nelson
Mandela, requested the
roll out of the Award
within correctional
centres.
• highlight the benefits and impact that the Award has had on
their lives during their incarceration
• encourage young people to join
the programme.
Due the incredible success of the
first BCC, the second 4-day cycling trip will take place from 4-7
April 2017, with four inmates, other
participants and selected adults.
The project is again coordinated by
Kobus Swart and his team. The aim
is to develop this unique initiative
and involve a growing number of
Award participants.
TPA is indebted to the numerous DCS officials who act as Award
Leaders and impact the lives of
incarcerated youth so significantly.
Corrections@WORK 15
M
ost of us are born
with ordinary
means. Few turn
ordinary into extraordinary. There is
greatness in that. Using the simple,
ordinary means you have and
changing what seems unlikely
and impossible, into reality is
something that the late June
Loff did in her work as a
correctional official, based
at Brandvlei Management Area. She was an
ordinary person, but
she used her beliefs,
passion and talents to
become an exceptional
official and extraordinary Award Leader. In
The President’s Award
(TPA), the adult mentors are referred to as
Award Leaders.
Sadly, June passed away
on 27 January 2017. She
will be missed by all those
whose lives she had affected in a profoundly positive
way.
“June was the most dedicated, passionate, incredible
Award Leader. She guided many
youth offenders through all three
levels of the Award Programme
and significantly impacted many
young people’s lives. She treated the
participants like her own sons. Our
hearts are heavy as we remember
this very special lady with fondness and happy memories,” said Lara
Kruiskamp, CEO of The President’s
Award.
Joining DCS in 1986, June started
her 30-year career at Pollsmoor.
She became an Award Leader while
working at Pollsmoor Medium Correctional Centre and was transferred
to Brandvlei Maximum Correctional
Centre in 2007.
Her memorial service was held
at Brandvlei on 02 February 2017.
Reginald Volminck, Supervisor:
Education at Brandvlei, paid a moving tribute to June saying, “The name
June Loff is synonymous with The
President’s Award. TPA was her calling and passion in a male dominated
environment.”
BY JANINE HANSEN, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR OF THE PRESIDENT’S AWARD
FOR YOUTH EMPOWERMENT June was bold in the way she led
o ot gee
e
w
s is
g
‘n
Gr
TRIBUTE:
Mamma Loff
… an exceptional
correctional official and
outstanding President’s
Award Leader
16 Corrections@WORK
TPA in the centre, acting not
only as a mentor to participants, but
also as a mother to those she worked
with, guiding offenders to learn from
their mistakes. She was determined
to make a difference, and fully committed to rehabilitation.
“June meant a lot to the inmates.
She did not focus on their crimes,
but on their potential,” said Volminck.
“I owe her my life”
Jason Coldicott, an inmate who participated in TPA under June’s guidance, wrote the following reflection
on the impact she had on his life, “I
am so different from who I was and
when I look back, my transformation
is incredible. But it is not something
I could have done alone. It took one
person’s unwavering belief that I was
a better person to unlock that potential in me. Ms June Loff was that
person. Her commitment to the people that society cast aside, her ability
to look beyond our flaws and fears
made her a force for change that we
should all aspire to be. I would not
be where I am today without her
strength and belief that there is good
in all people. She may not have saved
my life in the traditional sense of the
word, but there is no doubt that I owe
her my life.”
Gail Brecht, Programme Manager
at The President’s Award, worked
at the department’s Western Cape
Regional Office when June first became an Award leader. At the memorial service, she reflected how, when
June had her first group of Gold
recipients, there was a TPA event in
which the inmates would appear in
the presence of
the Royal Highnesses, The Earl
and Countess
of Wessex,
and the late
Madiba. June
wanted her
youth participants to be
dressed for
the occasion
and approached the regional
office, but was told that there was no
budget available. June used her personal funds to hire suits and gold ties
so that the young offenders would
look their best.
“Most of us would have settled on
the fact that there was no money,
but good enough wasn’t good enough
if June knew it could be better. It
wasn’t about the suits and ties, but
about their dignity and self-worth as
young people who chose to change
their lives around. She did not see
them as “tsotsies” or “bandiete”, but
as her own sons,” said Brecht.
Amazing stats
For most of the past decade Brandvlei Maximum has been the only
maximum facility in South Africa
that implemented the Award Programme. During this time June
enrolled 249 inmates into the
programme with 102 awards being issued. Youth participants are
required to
fulfil a number of criteria
that are
aligned with
the standards
of this international programme to receive Bronze,
then Silver and
finally Gold
Awards. Not
all participants
make it all the
way through.
June’s completion rate of 41% is higher than
the average completions nation-
ally and internationally, not just in
correctional centres, but in schools
and community groups as well. It
is particularly impressive that she
achieved this within a very limiting
structure and challenging environment.
“June changed our perception of
what can and should be done for
all young people in correctional
centres. She inspired international
visitors and played a key role in
motivating the roll out of The President’s Award in correctional centres in many other countries,” said
Brecht. “We will not just remember
June for her outstanding results on
paper, but also how she embodied
everything one can dream of in an
Award Leader. She had unparalleled
commitment and unequalled passion for youth development. What
seemed impossible became a reality
when June put her mind to it. Her
deep love and concern for those
young people was the driving force
in her life.”
Volmick ended his tribute fittingly
by saying, “Ma Loff’s life here has
been one of service and kindness …
We have lost a gem, a workaholic,
a team player, a gumboot dancer, a
mother and grandmother, a friend
and a beautiful heart. She had unique
character. We miss her and may her
soul rest in peace.”
Kobus Swart (left) and June Loff (right) with
award participant Jason Coldicott.
Corrections@WORK 17
PROFILE
Western Cape Award Leaders pose with Lara Kruiskamp, CEO of the TPA
(in front, left). Next to her is June Loff.
The Award Programme is made up of …
Four Sections
• Community Service: To learn how to give useful service
to others
• Physical Recreation: To encourage the development of
personal interests, creativity or practical skills
• Adventurous Journey: To encourage participation in
physical recreation and improvement in performance
• Skills Development: To encourage a spirit of adventure
and discovery whilst undertaking a journey in a group
Three levels
• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
Why is The President’s Award effective as a
rehabilitation tool?
1. It recognises and develops the essential element
of TRUST between Award leaders and participants
(inmates).
2. It believes in the potential of young people to make the
right choices in whatever context they are in.
3. It focuses on a team-approach for both Award Leaders
and participants (support and sustainability).
4. It builds the capacity of Award Leaders (correctional
officials) to deal with young people in their care.
5. Our operational function is interfaced with DCS National
Office, Regional Office as well as with the individual
facilities (maximise communication and, therefore,
impact).
6. Due to its flexibility, it is able to be used inside as well
as outside prison (potential for continuity).
The Award Programme supports the White Paper on
Corrections in South Africa
The Department of Correctional Services wants to correct
offending behaviour of inmates in order to promote:
Social responsibility
amongst inmates
• Service (helping at local AIDS
orphanages, cleaning schools,
creating vegetable gardens, etc.)
A recognition of
• Skills (anger management, peer
what they have done
support groups etc.)
• Service (anti–crime talks to local
wrong
schools)
A recognition of
the unacceptable
behaviour
• Voluntary involvement
• Meaningful relationship
Award Leader
An internalising of
past actions
• Expedition Section
• Positive group interaction
BLAST FROM THE PAST: This young man was one of 40 TPA
Gold Award recipients in 2008. His photo appeared on
the cover of the DCS National newsletter of that time SA
Corrections Today. Unfortunately it appeared without his
name and surname. The 40 offenders were treated to a
presentation on the Eastern Cape’s natural history
and the young man is holding a rock monitor.
18 Corrections@WORK
with
Measures implemented to end
audit findings:
Internal Control at
centre of eliminating
audit findings
BY SOLLY MASHABELA
The department has
recently achieved an
unqualified audit opinion
that has been hailed as
the highest achievement
of the department since
democracy.
N
ational Commissioner
Zach Modise has acknowledged in many
platforms, including in
his address to staff on
13 February 2017 that although the
unqualified opinion was worthy
of celebration, the actual aim is
a clean audit. Therefore the Chief
Directorate Internal Control and
Compliance has been strengthened
with recently appointed professionals who have the required skills.
The Deputy Commissioner Internal
Control and Compliance, Ramootsedi Motaung, was appointed to
lead the chief directorate and two
directorates, namely Risk Management (new) and the Inspectorate.
The Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) raised findings in the
2015/16 Annual Report, without
which the department could have
attained a clean audit. It is the task
of Internal Control and Compliance
to verify implementation of the
AGSA audit action plans in the department’s branches. The department altogether had 667 findings, of
which 72% were since resolved and
24% were in the process of being
resolved.
The chief directorate emphasised
some concerns in its recent Progress Report on the Implementation of the Audit Action Plans,
especially on findings related to
facilities, contingent liabilities, performance information and compliance. Among its concerns are action
plans that are not addressing root
causes and unreliable reports
about implementation of the audit
actions plans. It flagged the high
probability of recurrence.
The chief directorate has also
taken measures to ensure that the
audit findings are addressed. Most
officials on suspension were reinstated and recent suspensions are
reviewed weekly to avoid excessive
costs related to the salaries of such
officials. Suspensions were reduced
from 266 in September 2015 to 199
in September 2016.
Officials who handle performance
information at management areas
were trained, with emphasis on
calculating performance scores and
• All IT-related goods and services that ought to be procured
through the State Information
Technology Agency (SITA) are
procured through the agency.
• A lease register is completed by
the regions monthly and reconciled with their lease records.
• Findings on contract management which resulted in incomplete repairs of kitchens and
boilers were resolved and the
kitchen at Groenpunt was handed over to the region for use.
• Vacancies in critical posts are
prioritised.
Audit terminology
Clean audit – The financial statements are free from material
misstatements and there are no
material findings on reporting
performance objectives or noncompliance with legislation.
Unqualified audit – The financial
statements contain no material
misstatements. Findings have been
raised on either reporting on predetermined objectives or non-compliance with legislation, or both.
Qualified – The financial statements contain material misstatements in specific amounts, or there
is insufficient evidence to conclude
that specific amounts included in
the financial statements are not
materially misstated.
Adverse – The financial statements
contain material misstatements
that are not confined to specific
amounts, or the misstatements
represent a substantial portion of
the financial statements.
Disclaimer – Insufficient evidence
in the form of documentation on
which to base an audit opinion was
provided. The lack of evidence is
not confined to specific amounts,
or represents a substantial portion
of the information contained in the
financial statements.
Corrections@WORK 19
MANAGEMENT
Deputy Commissioner Internal Control and
Compliance, Ramootsedi Motaung, leads
the efforts to close internal control gaps.
the required source documents for
each performance indicator. The
disciplinary process will be instituted for those who submit misleading
information.
Officials
submitted
COST
SAVING
IDEAS
BY TIYANI SAMBO
20 Corrections@WORK
National Treasury has re-evaluated its budget
allocations to departments in the face of the
economic downturn that has forced many sectors
of society, including government, to find smarter
ways to do more with less.
T
he consequence of this
fiscal consolidation is that
many government departments, including DCS, are
experiencing significant
budget cuts.
As a means to deal with this reality creatively, the Finance branch
at Head Office advertised a cost
cutting competition in the previous
edition of C@W. Officials were encouraged to enter their cost-saving
concepts for possible adoption by the
department. The winner stood the
chance to win a weekend away for
two in a 3-star hotel. Close to 230
entries were received, amounting to
a plethora of ideas for consideration.
Below are some cost-saving ideas
submitted by officials:
Transport
• Ensure officials going to the same
destination travel together.
• Buy bicycles to be used for local
trips.
• Reduce unnecessary transport
costs for transporting inmates
to courts by working closely
with role players in the criminal
justice system to avoid attending
postponed court hearings.
• Departmental vehicles to be serviced at manufacturer-accredited
centres to avoid fitting of pirated
parts, which cause costly breakdowns.
• Gauteng-based officials travelling to OR Tambo International
Airport to use the Gautrain, and
Pretoria-based officials to use
Wonderboom airport for official
flights.
Go green
• Install grey water systems to irrigate sport fields and gardens at
correctional centres and management areas.
• Install solar-powered geysers on
the roofs of correctional centres
to reduce the high electricity
costs.
• Use a strong salt (ordinary
sodium chloride) solution to
disinfect and clean floors, steps
and dayrooms of inmates and use
commercially available chemicals only in hospital sections
and areas mandated by law to be
disinfected with chemicals.
Office expenses
• Employ more concerted efforts to
move to paperless systems.
• Buy stationery in bulk, thereby
reducing unit costs of items.
• Enforce the limits on use of official phones for private calls.
•
•
•
•
employ youth in entry-level
posts, with skills transfer to the
younger generation incorporated
into the process.
Reduce the number of directorates and posts that fulfill similar
functions.
Scrap uniform for most head office staff.
Offenders to produce officials’
uniform.
E-mail pay slips to officials who
have access to e-mail rather than
printing them.
Events and accommodation
• Reduce the size of delegations to
events.
• Reduce the number of events
held.
• Use departmental guesthouses
instead of hotel accommodation.
Other
• Produce sanitary
towels for female
offenders
in-house.
Inmates’ food
• Stop outsourcing catering services for inmates and let them
prepare their food.
• Expand agricultural production significantly and localise
production more to reduce
transporting produce to
other centres.
Facilities
• Establish localised offender
renovation and maintenance
teams.
• Offenders to build offices instead of renting office space.
• Use offender labour to do pest
control under supervision of a
qualified pest controller.
• Install prepaid water and electricity meters at all departmental
residential dwellings.
HR
• Discontinue use of external psychiatrists, and appoint permanent
psychiatrists or fund officials
who want to further their studies
in this direction.
• Provide voluntary severance
packages to older officials, and
Corrections@WORK 21
Occupational Health and Safety Director Mokhethi Matobako (right) with Annah Lekoloane,
Ndindendavela Mgudlwa and Portia Mohasoa shoulder the responsibility to make the
environment healthy and safe in the department’s buildings.
OCCUPATIONAL
HEALTH AND
SAFETY, too
costly to ignore
BY TIYANI SAMBO
The Compensation Fund has received about 129 000
claims related to injury on duty. It paid about R25
million for temporary disability and R106 million
for permanent disability in the 2015/16 financial
year.
T
his excludes millions paid
in medical costs to health
providers.
The Directorate Occupational Health and Safety
(OHS) at National Office has the
responsibility to promote safe work
environments in DCS and enforce
compliance to occupational health
and safety legislation. If effective, it
22 Corrections@WORK
should lessen injuries on duty (IOD),
thus lessening the burden on the
state to compensate injured workers.
At a staff meeting on 13 February
2017, National Commissioner Zach
Modise once again raised his concern over the undesirable state of
the Poyntons buildings where Head
Office is located, and the building
occupied by the Limpopo, Mpuma-
langa and North West regional office. He directed the Chief Directorate Facilities to find solutions to the
problems besetting the buildings. He
once again expressed his wish that
Public Works would move speedily with building the envisaged new
head office at Salvokop in Tshwane.
According to legislation, any
organisation that employs more
than 20 people is obliged to appoint
a Safety, Health and Environment
(SHE) representative.
Since 2013/14, the Chief Directorate Integrated Employee Health and
Wellness has conducted 32 information sessions on OHS and Compensation for Occupational Injuries and
Diseases (COID) nationally. As part
of its functions, officials who work
in the kitchens, healthcare professionals, food handlers, sewer treatment workers and officials doing
hospital duties have been vaccinated
against hepatitis A and B. Horse
riders/mounted services and K9/
dog handlers have been vaccinated
against rabies.
The OHS staff compliment consists
of officials from Head Office and
Regional OHS Coordinators. Management areas also have officials assigned to execute OHS related duties
on an ad hoc basis.
The department recently trained
45 officials from the National Office,
Kroonstad and Zonderwater colleges
in a two-week training course on
OHS. The certificates they obtained
are valid for three years. Director
Occupational Health and Safety,
Mokhethi Matobako, said SHE reps
are expected to conduct regular inspections, report unsafe conditions
and recommend corrective measures to the employer. He said the
criteria for OHS representatives are
that they be permanently employed
and be familiar with the environment in which they work.
Ms Gugulethu Nkosi from the
Directorate Correctional Programmes was encouraged by the
course, saying: “I found it interesting and informative. I learned a lot
about occupational health and safety
management. We learned about
legislation and procedures regulating
health and safety in the workplace”.
She found the tip about switching
electrical appliances, such as bar
heaters off when leaving a room
insightful as it was a regular occurrence in correctional centres during
winter.
The participants also learned how
to conduct inspections in a manner that detect potential health and
safety hazards in the workplace.
There are many examples where the
conduct of officials lead to safety
hazards, be it because of carelessness, ignorance or malicious intent.
Another participant, Ms Lindelwa
Maarman from Kroonstad Management Area, said the training
equipped them to maintain a safe
work environment by identifying
risks and hazards, and ways to minimise them.
MANAGEMENT
The department recently
trained 45 officials
from the National
Office, Kroonstad and
Zonderwater colleges
in a two-week training
course on OHS.
1
3
2
4
5
1. A well-stocked first aid kit is a must in the workplace.
2. Broken electrical connections pose a safety risk.
3. Peeling paint can be a sign of maintenance that is neglected and/or a sign of damp.
4. An example of where simple or easy repair work was left too long without managers attending to it.
5. An updated and visible information board about OHS representatives is an indication that people
care about their workplace.
Corrections@WORK 23
PROFILE
The joy of reaching the finish
line in time…
24 Corrections@WORK
BY MOCHETA MONAMA
As I drive from Edmond Street up to the iconic
landmark of the City of Tshwane, which attracts
tourists and bears the emblem of democracy, it is
difficult to ignore the peace and tranquillity that
adorns the place.
T
hroughout the Union Building’s green gardens, one is
met with various personalities and activities, including
street vendors, lovers holding hands, bible study groups, storytelling groups, individual and group
runners which all in all predict one
thing, peace.
It is here where Gauteng Acting
Regional Commissioner, Mandla
Mkabela, trains as a marathon runner and where I had the chance to
speak to him about how he juggles
his work pressures and being a committed athlete.
Mr Mkabela’s love of running was
awakened by a close friend who
used to play squash and loved running. He joined the athletics team in
Barberton Management Area when
he was the Area Commissioner back
in 1999 at the age of 34 and he never
stopped running. “Running became
my life and if I had not ran for a
while, my body start acting up.”
Twenty one years later he is still
enjoying it.
Mkabela ran half marathons
(21km) for many years while doing
a full marathon (42km) remained
a dream because he thought he
would not manage. When he was
Area Commissioner at Pollsmoor,
a member of the running team told
him his time and fitness level qualified him to run a full marathon. “I
was reluctant because to me it was
a very long distance.” The Soweto
Marathon came, it was back in 2009
and he was on a flight with the team
for the marathon. Being a strategic
thinker and always cost conscious,
his common sense told him that
running a half marathon while having travelled all the way from Cape
Town would be a waste. Just there
he decided to run the full distance
to complement his expenses. He
finished it in six hours, which is not
a good time but it gave him more
courage. Over time his performance
improved.
Things changed again when he was
appointed Acting Regional Commissioner for Gauteng. He joined a
team of runners that had a coach.
His performance, focus and fitness improved because the coach
taught them techniques of running
but most importantly, how to enjoy
running through strengthening the
right muscles, choosing the correct
running shoes and other aspects of
running.
He refers to his coach – Linda
"If you cannot
be led, then you
cannot be a leader.
Coach Linda is my
junior at work but
in running he is my
coach and I have to
listen to him."
- Mr Mandla Mkabela,
Acting Gauteng Regional
Commissioner
Corrections@WORK 25
PROFILE
LEAD AND
BE
LED,
recipe for success
Hlope – as a tricky coach because
you never know what type of training will be done on a particular day.
Coach Linda is widely known for
his contribution to athletics, and
is himself a well respected runner. Coach Linda is also employed
by Correctional Services and he
is based at the Remand Detention
Centre of Kgoši Mampuru II Management Area.
However, their relationship in athletics has nothing to do with who is
superior at work, Mkabela emphasised. “If you cannot be led, then
you cannot be a leader. Coach Linda
is my junior at work but in running
he is my coach and I have to listen
to him. I adhere to his instructions
without any objection and we are
able to separate work from training.” What is more amazing is that
other team members do not know
that Mkabela is Coach Linda’s superior at work.
In preparation for marathons,
training sessions include running
further than 20 km, sprinting, relay,
stomach exercises, climbing hills
and other intensive exercises which
help strengthen all the right muscles in the body. One of Mkabela’s
most recent races was the Soweto
Marathon on 06 November 2016 in
which he completed a half marathon
in 2hrs, 36 minutes without much
training towards the event due to
mourning his mother, who had >
passed away a few weeks earlier.
Simply running a race is satisfactory enough, he says, but passing
younger athletes, “like I am just
changing lanes on a freeway makes
me feel very good”.
Most professionals find it difficult
to balance their professional life,
family life and participate in sport
full time. According to Mkabela,
this can be managed by balancing
responsibilities. He dedicates 2-3
hours per day, mostly four times a
week to train but he plans his time
well and he is still a family man.
Being an athlete contributes immensely towards his health, his
ability to focus at work, preventing
fatigue and it helps him to remain
grounded in general. Although running may not determine or prevent
illnesses such as diabetes or flu, he
is convinced it minimizes illnesses.
Mkabela does not consider himself
1
3
26 Corrections@WORK
a professional runner and therefore
does not follow a special diet. His
face lightens up when he says that
he loves traditional food. However,
he mentioned the importance of
taking small quantities. “At my age I
cannot restrict myself, I must enjoy
food,” he laughs.
Most people his age (55) do not
participate in sport and he is used
to people not believing that he is an
athlete, especially when they look
at his physique, his speaking and
walking pace which do not correlate
with being an athlete.
His advice to young officials is to
be involved in sport from a young
age, but most importantly, to strike
a balance between being a profes-
sional, participating in sport and being a family man/woman. “No one
will bring your health to you. The
lifestyle you live and the people
you associate with will determine
where you end up in life. Young
officials need to study and improve
themselves and be passionate about
what they do.”
“You cannot be a corporate giant
but a family disaster. I love running
but I also love my career. You need
to stay humble,” he says.
Mkabela’s next goal is to run the
Comrades Marathon within the
cut-off time in 2017. “This dream
keeps me fit, not only physically but
it keeps me focused and always active,” he says.
1. Early morning uphill running at the Union Building.
2. Running has become a way of life for Mkabela.
3. The big man is keeping up with the younger ones.
4. Goal for 2017 is running the Comrades Marathon and completing it within the cut-off time.
2
4
Free State and Northern Cape Regional Head Gustav Wilson and his wife Rosie Wilson pose with the
award he won for the many projects he led to change men into esteemed fathers.
MAN OF
THE YEAR
is community builder
par excellence
Free State and Northern Cape Regional Head
Development and Care, Gustav Wilson, won the 2016
South African Man of the Year Award at a glittering event
on 18 November 2016.
Corrections@WORK 27
PROFILE
N
ominations for the
award were open to
all South African men
whose community
upliftment work has
impacted on families and communities in a significant way. Wilson
was found to be that man.
“This award is for every boy
child, young man and men in general in our beautiful country who
deserve to dream and unite to build
a better tomorrow. It is for every
offender, parolee, probationer and
ex-offender who are rehabilitated
and deserve a second chance. Together we can and must transform
men for a brighter future. We must
become change makers,” he said
when he received the award. Wilson reserved a special praise
to all women who support and
inspire their sons, husbands, and
fathers to become great men. He
thanked the Department of Social
Development and the South African Men’s Forum for hosting the
event and honouring him with such
a prestigious award. He sat down with Corrections@
Work and answered a few questions.
My involvement with community
upliftment projects started way
back in 1991 when I was still a student at the University of the Free
State. I became involved in HIV
and AIDS Awareness and Prevention Programmes for the youth in
the Free State through the National
AIDS Consortium of South Africa
(NACOSA), which was a newly
established organisation. Through
my involvement, the Free State
became the first province to establish a halfway house for children
who were terminally ill, especially
babies living with full blown AIDS.
The halfway house, named Sunflower House, is still operating and
provides an outstanding service
in the Free State. The model was
adopted as a best practice and
duplicated in provinces such as
KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Western Cape.
I also launched the “Second
Chances Awareness Campaign”
that focused on giving offenders
a second chance when they were
This award is for every
boy child, young men
and men in general in
our beautiful country
who deserve to dream
and unite to build a
better tomorrow.
Gustav Wilson shares the recognition he got with his DCS principals, National Commissioner Zach
Modise (left), Free State and Northern Cape Regional Commissioner Subashini Moodley and Deputy
Regional Commissioner Grace Molatedi.
released from correctional centres.
This was even before social reintegration was adopted as one of the
key deliverables of the department.
I launched the “I Dare to Choose
Life” campaign in June 2012 which
raises awareness of substance
abuse and prevention thereof
among the youth. The aim was also
to address the issue of suicides that
was rife at the time in the community of Heidedal. This campaign
grew beyond Heidedal area and is
still active today.
The award goes to a man who
has demonstrated exceptional
community upliftment work.
Elaborate on your own work.
My work starts within my family where I am a father and role
model to my three boys (Wallace,
21 years; Gideon, 17 years and Jason
11 years). I have always had a passion for community outreach since
I grew up in extreme poverty. My
passion was fulfilled when I was
elected as an exchange student to
the USA in 1989 to stay with a host
family, Mr John Tanner and his
wife Carol Tanner and their four
children, near Chicago. My host
mom was involved in the church’s
social outreach projects. I joined
her and it strengthened my passion
to care for other people and also
to help them so that they can help
themselves. I then decided that I
28 Corrections@WORK
would become a social worker.
In 2015 I initiated the Gustav &
Rosie Wilson Community Service
Award for learners at three secondary schools in Heidedal. The award
is given to a learner or a group of
learners whose work improves the
lives of their fellow learners or
contribute to community upliftment.
What do you think is wrong with
men in today’s society and how
can this change?
In my view, what is wrong with
men today is that they do not take
responsibility for their actions and
they do not stand up for what is
right. Men are witnessed as the instigators of crimes against women
and children. Absent fathers
contribute to youth making wrong
life choices, such as choosing bad
role models. Bad role models do
not have the best interest of our
children at heart, they lead them
to substance abuse, violent relationships, teenage pregnancies and
other social ills.
There are many men who fend
for their families in illegal ways
such as selling drugs. There are
many men who have neglected
their responsibilities as fathers and
husbands, and they have abandoned
the church. They have lost their
moral compass and continue to
chase after wealth.
How do you as an award winner
restore the role and pride of the
male figure in society?
I must start within my own house
by being a role model to my boys.
I must teach them the principles
and values of life, and to appreciate
what they have. I believe through
my involvement in the community,
I also instil the pride of a male
figure, as it shows that I am a caring man. I encourage young men as
well as the boy child not to allow
their circumstances to dictate their
future and decisions they take. I
grew up without a father in very
difficult circumstances. However,
I decided that I would not become
part of the statistics of robbers and
gangsters.
I have the greatest respect and
honour for my mother, who raised
us as a single mother after my
father passed on when I was only
four years old.
I want to encourage men to become involved in their families,
church and in the community as a
whole and to help other men get rid
of the labels of rapist, murderer,
thief or “good for nothing”. I would
like to see more positive stories
being carried by our media about
good men.
Director Skills Development (previously Deputy Director Formal Education), Marion Johnson
explains brochure information to an offender at Grootvlei Correctional Centre.
CAREER GUIDANCE
ROADSHOWS
reach correctional
centres
BY SAMANTHA RAMSEWAKI
In 2012, the Department of Higher Education and
Training (DHET), in partnership with the South
African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), took
the lead and developed a policy framework for
providing career guidance information to South
Africans.
KNOW YOUR DCS
CAPTION
E
ducation at all levels
remains a top priority of
government, which is confirmed by the large chunk
of the annual budget it
receives. In 2014, DCS entered into
a memorandum of understanding
with DHET, with the aim to build a
single, coherent, differentiated and
articulated post-school education
and training system for offenders.
However, both officials and offenders should benefit from educated
choices on vocational and academic
careers.
In the spring of 2016, the Directorates Formal Education and
Skills Development at Head Office
embarked on a roadshow to market
technical and vocational careers to
offenders in 18 correctional centres
across the country.
The marketing shift towards
technical vocational education and
training (TVET) colleges opened
constructive dialogue between
offenders and representatives in
the national roadshow. People are
different and look for different
things in a job. Whilst some may be
artistic and creative by nature, >
Corrections@WORK 29
More than 700 sentenced
offenders attended
the career information
sessions. DCS oversees
18 correctional based
DHET registered TVET
college programme
examination centres.
Offenders learned that TVET college education offer good career opportunities.
others prefer an environment with
clear expectations and rules.
TVET colleges, previously known
as FET colleges, resort under the
Directorate Skills Development. The
directorate’s targeted registration
expectancy for 2017/18 in artisan
related programmes is a whopping 4 500 for correctional centres
countrywide.
Deputy Director Leonard Ngoloyi’s
understanding of the dynamics
in centres and how it influences
the effectiveness of programmes
comes from his work history in
centres. “The availability and accessibility to skills programmes, infrastructure and resources remain
a constant challenge. As much as
female offenders are interested in
obtaining hard skills, access to artisan courses is hard to come by for
them. Male offenders are at greater
advantage to participate in artisan
training,” Ngoloyi said.
However, Ngoloyi was firm in
saying, “The Correctional Services
Act 111 of 1998, Section 41 states
that the department must provide
access to as full a range of programmes and activities, including
needs-based programmes, as is
practicable to meet the educational
and training needs of sentenced
offenders.” According to Ngoloyi,
female and male offenders may
be allowed to attend programmes
together, provided that security is
properly arranged. But despite the
30 Corrections@WORK
option being available, few correctional centres practise this option.
DCS has some notable recent success with training female offenders of Pollsmoor and Kroonstad
in building, plastering and tiling.
However, presenting complete artisan training programmes to females
is yet to be attained by the department.
Partners at the roadshow sessions
included DHET career development
practitioners, Fibre Processing and
Manufacturing Sector Education
& Training Authority (FP&M Seta)
and Manufacturing, Engineering &
Related Services Seta (MerSETA).
DCS is currently not in the position
to fund the education model for
offenders and officials. Bursaries
for officials have been suspended
in the current cost cutting measures that are implemented in the
department. Opportunities for offenders are a little more hopeful as
they are able to register at no cost
for TVET programmes and sitting for
examinations within correctional
facilities. DCS is greatly reliant on
DHET, the National Skills Fund and
sponsorships by the SETAs for the
development of offenders.
“More than 700 sentenced offenders attended the career information
sessions. DCS oversees 18 correctional-based, DHET-registered TVET
college programme examination
centres. Both the Directorates
Formal Education and Skills Devel-
opment work collaboratively to give
offenders wider programme choice
and opportunities,” said Marion
Johnson, recently appointed Director Skills Development.
Services available to officials too
The partnership between DCS and
DHET provides career development
services to officials too, although it
seems to focus on offenders’ development needs. For example, in 2015
St Albans Management Area outside
Port Elizabeth was the training site
for human resource development
practitioners to provide better
career information and career guidance to officials.
St Albans and Overberg management areas have fully equipped
career resource centres accessible
to officials. Permanent placement
of officials at the resource centres have yet to be made in order
to function optimally. Currently
choked by cost containment, the
programme continues but not at
full capacity.
Director Policy & External Training,
Ms Raisebe Mphela said DHET and
DCS meet bi-monthly to manage
progress on implementation of the
partnership.
With the public service projected
to shrink in size due to a large number of staff reaching retirement age
in less than a decade, DCS needs to
find ways to become a more agile
organisation.
Correctional departments of 18 countries were represented at a meeting of the United Nations
Expert Group, held in Vienna Austria.
CORRECTIONS
BEST PRACTICES
showcased at UN
meeting
BY NELISWA MZIMBA
Deputy Commissioner Personal Development,
Dr Minette Plaatjies presented the work of the
department at a meeting of the United Nations’
Expert Group in Vienna, Austria from 23 to 25
January 2017.
I
ts purpose was to discuss
rehabilitation programmes in
correctional centres, mainly focusing on education, vocational
training and work-related programmes for offenders. The meeting was attended by delegates
from 18 countries and was held
in the context of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s
(UNODC) call for a global collective
approach in crime prevention and
criminal justice.
Plaatjies presented on educational
programmes in South African
correctional centres, including
how the department uses formal
education to develop offenders,
its impressive Grade 12 results and
its strong partnerships. She said
it was a good experience to share
what the department does and
also to realise that there is still so
much more to be done.
The meeting used DCS as a case
study for having educational and
vocational programmes as objectives in its strategic plan. The
same happened with progressive
initiatives by countries such as
Singapore, which has effective
community engagement and
partnerships. In Thailand, offenders are trained as call centre
agents and work as such while
incarcerated, while in Nigeria, even
unsentenced inmates are given
vocational training as they are 70%
of the inmate population.
Most countries present at the
meeting seemed to experience
overcrowding. Thailand accommodates more than double the
inmates it has facilities for. It has
close to 300 000 inmates.
The debate around remuneration
for offender labour could not be
avoided. In Italy, 350 cooperatives
directly employ offenders on an
agreed minimum wage and they
receive a tax rebate. In Paraguay,
prison products are sold publicly
and its brand has become popular
in shops.
Plaatjies said the meeting
achieved its main objective, which
was to share best practices and
develop a common approach on
corrections. She said some of the
lessons that can take DCS forward
are intensifying relations with
partners in community reintegration and the use of social media to
communicate.
Corrections@WORK 31
MANAGEMENT
The meeting used DCS
as a case study for
having educational and
vocational programmes
as objectives in its
strategic plan.
GROWING OUR PEOPLE
CARDIO
KARATE
brings fitness back to
Baviaanspoort
BY SAMANTHA RAMSEWAKI
32 Corrections@WORK
Jan Badenhorst is the driving force behind the
cardio karate activities at Baviaanspoort.
Jan Badenhorst, a senior correctional official here has made martial
arts a lifestyle. Himself a 6th Dan
grade, Badenhorst has brought fitness hunger to his colleagues. He
combines cardio blasts with resistance training in a power-packed
one-and-a-half hour workout.
Cardio karate combines martial
arts and aerobics to provide overall
physical conditioning and toning.
The total body workout sheds loads
of calories with every stride.
He owns Sakura Kai Karate School
and after 36 years in martial arts
Badenhorst remains as committed as
the young lad who drew inspiration
from Bruce Lee posters. Aged 47, he
remains a diligent martial arts competitor and a devoted correctional
official with nearly 30 years of DCS
service.
Officials garnered trust in Badenhorst’s cardio karate workouts once
their hunger signals became better
regulated. They were not just eating
less but shaved away the centimetres
A healthy workforce
is a more productive
workforce.
too. The cardio karate club has 66
active members who attend sessions
twice weekly and age is not a condition for participation.
Mr Jerry Somaru, Area Commissioner at Baviaanspoort, who is a
strong supporter of Badenhorst’s
work, says the public service has a
serious challenge in bringing out the
best in its employees. “The most important capital in any organisation is
its human resources,” Somaru says.
Moreover, “A healthy workforce is
a more productive workforce. With
healthcare costs continuously rising, it makes sense that maximising
employees’ engagement with and
participation in workplace wellness
programmes is critical.”
As area commissioner of about 700
officials, Somaru is sold on the impact of the cardio karate programme
and has encouraged a national roll
out.
Engagement, motivation, support
and strategy are keys to a successful employee wellness approach.
Preventable diseases such as stroke,
cancer and obesity can be beaten
through fitness.
The cardio karate club also takes
their fitness frenzy to Uitkoms Care
Centre in Montana Pretoria and the
SOS Children’s Village in Mamelodi
as outreach initiatives.
Gloria Hlazana, special programmes manager at Baviaanspoort
tries not to miss a cardio karate
class. “Participating in the class
helps relieve stress and frustration.
Senior managers and officials both
enjoy the sessions. Fitness improves
my mood and work attitude,” she
says.
When habits have been years in
the making, you cannot expect
behaviour to change overnight, but
when a person is able to commit
mentally, emotionally and socially
on a conscious level, change is possible. Healthier employees can
actually help their own bottom line
financially by keeping fit because
there will be fewer doctor’s visits.
Corrections@WORK 33
GROWING OUR PEOPLE
A
workplace culture sets
a specific tone for its
employees. A supportive
work environment, where
managers reinforce a
sound wellness attitude, can keep
employees motivated and engaged.
Most correctional officials experience daily work stress. Often there
is little or no time or energy left
to frequent the gym for a workout.
However, some officials at Baviaanspoort Management Area make
a conscious effort to break from the
work routine and refresh both body
and mind.
KNOW YOUR DCS
Water shortage
ends at Barberton
Management Area
By Mesia Hlungwani and Tiyani Sambo
A lasting solution has been found to water supply
interruptions that plagued Barberton Management
Area since early 2016.
A
successful collaboration
between DCS, the Department of Public Works and
the City of Mbombela
ended the crippling water
crisis. The process to restore full
water supply to the correctional
centres started with the Department of Public Works conducting a
hydrogeological investigation into
the state of five boreholes at the
management area.
Following the investigation, Bar-
The water reservoirs at Barberton are being
replenished once again.
34 Corrections@WORK
berton Area Commissioner Solly
Netshivhazwaulu met with the
Mayor of Mbombela, Councillor Sibusiso Mathonsi on 7 February 2017,
to explore urgent steps that could
be taken to resolve the water crisis.
Because of it, officials were utilising state vehicles to fetch water in
town and transporting it in containers to the centres.
The management area has seven
boreholes, five of which had to be
re-drilled following the hydrogeo-
Trenches were dug to lay pipes from boreholes
to storage tanks.
logical findings. The water sourced
from the boreholes was tested
and found drinkable. Water is also
purified with chlorine before it is
supplied to livestock at the management area’s farm.
Mayor Mathonsi committed to
help whenever the department
experience problems. He said, “To
us Correctional Services is not an
institution, it is part of the community and when a member of the
community does not have access
to basic services it concerns us. We
are committed to work with Correctional Services in providing water to
the farm prison”.
The report from technicians
indicated that there was sufficient
ground water to supply the entire
management area. Boreholes at
the facility have the capacity to
produce up to 550 000 litres of
water per day. The municipality
pledged to avail its artisans to help
the management area to install
pipes from the boreholes to the
reservoirs.
The department purchased an 18
000 litre water tanker and four water storage tanks with the capacity
of 5 000 litres each as a contingency plan in case the boreholes run
dry. The municipality also donated
water tanks with the total capacity
of 30 000 litres.
Netshivhazwaulu was thankful
for the partnership with the City
of Mbombela. “It is expected from
us to incarcerate offenders in a
humane environment, therefore we
want to work with the municipality
and other institutions to ensure
that offenders are taken care of,”
he said.
KNOW YOUR DCS
Correctional officials and parolees celebrate
the newly opened halfway house that is to be
their home.
Acting Regional Commissioner Gauteng, Mandla Mkabela, helped by other officials, lays a wreath to
honour departed officials.
Zonderwater’s
departed officials
remembered
BY MASHUDU MUTAMBA
Acting Regional Commissioner Gauteng, Mandla
Mkabela unveiled a wall of remembrance on 26
January 2017 at Zonderwater Management Area for
officials who died while serving the department.
A
ltogether 61 correctional
officials who were based
at Zonderwater Training
College and Zonderwater Management Area
from 1990 onwards were remembered. Among those remembered
was Mr Mandla Stanely Nyembe
who died in a car accident while
transferring an inmate to Durban
in 2004 and Mr Harry Madimetja
Mabusela who died in car accident
while travelling from guarding duty
at Kalafong Hospital in 2012.
Paying tribute to the fallen heroes,
Mkabela said, “This as a symbolic
gesture to acknowledge and recognise our fallen colleagues who
passed on while on duty. We are
doing this as a moral and humane
obligation because as the employer,
despite the many challenges we
are facing, we still care about our
workforce”.
Family members and officials
congregated to witness the unveiling of the remembrance wall. “The
loss of my father still remains raw
for my family,” said Ms Ina Booyse
whose late father, Mr Coenie Booyse
worked at Logistics. She said they
were still struggling to come to
terms with their loss. However, “It
is really an honour to stand here
and see my father’s name on the
wall. The ceremony is proof that
my father is acknowledged for his
contribution to DCS. This initiative
executed by the department is an
inspiration to us as family members,
and especially for officials who work
for DCS”.
First halfway house
launched in Free
State & Northern
Cape
By Kgopolelo Jabanyane
Free State and Northern Cape
launched its first halfway house in
Bloemspruit, Mangaung towards
the end of 2016. It will house six
parolees. Halfway houses are community-based residential facilities
for probationers and parolees who
do not have a monitorable address
or support system for their easy
reintegration into their community.
Grootvlei Area Commissioner Errol Korabie welcomed the parolees
and gave them the house rules. He
emphasised respect for and cooperation with the person responsible
for the house, commonly referred to
as the ‘house mother’. “Structured
day programmes will be developed
for you. If your behaviour is untoward, we will be left with no option
but to send you back to the correctional centre,” he stressed.
Regional Coordinator Social Reintegration, Thami Nelane, echoed
the sentiments of the area commissioner. He said the occupants were
welcome to raise whatever issue
they needed to be addressed. “Visitors are allowed, but permission has
to be sought,” Nelane said.
The owner of the house which has
been turned into a halfway house,
Paulina Mapeshaone said she was
humbled by the partnership with
the department. She pledged continued support to the initiative. Lucky
Kasa, one of the parolees who will
live in the house said his next focus
is on finding a job.
Corrections@WORK 35
36 Corrections@WORK