Prison crisis in South Africa
Overutilisation of South African correctional facilities due to high levels of overcrowding has led to a rapid decay of infrastructure integrity.
Many are expected to deteriorate to a level that requires total refurbishment, upgrade, and replacement due to various reasons.
This outlined by Minister of Correction Services, Dr Pieter Groenewald, in a recent response to a question posed to him in parliament by EFF MP Mazwikayise Blose.
The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) property portfolio consists of 243 correctional centres.
Of the 243 correctional facilities nationally, 238 are active or in use, while five were permanently or temporarily closed.
Reasons for their closure include dilapidated infrastructure as well as temporarily closure for upgrading.
Based on a condition assessment of correctional centres, it was found that:
- 4% (10) are in a good state;
- 15% (36) are in a fair to good state;
- 17% (41) are in a fair state;
- 58% (141) are in a fair to poor state; and
- 6% (15) are in a poor state.
According to the most recently available statistics provided in the DCS’s 2024/25 Performance Plan, South Africa’s inmate population is just over 157,000, of which unsentenced inmates—that is, remand detention—comprise over a third.
This figure comes against the approved bedspace of ~110,000, which calculated into an occupancy level of 146% and an overcrowding level of 46%.
“The over utilisation of facilities due to constant and overwhelming levels of overcrowding contributes to rapid decay of infrastructure integrity,” said Groenewald.
The DSC wrote that “this growing population has serious implications. Inmates face longer confinement in overcrowded conditions, straining resources and heightening security and health risks.”
“Correctional officials struggle to implement policies in these challenging environments, creating dysfunctional facilities that are difficult to manage even under normal circumstances,” added the department .
When asked what he has found to be the main challenges that the facilities are faced with, Groenewald cited that the Repairs & Renovations and Building & Other Fixed Structure budget allocations were reduced by a factor of 53% per annum over the 3-year MTEF period of 2024/25 to 2026/27.
“Considering the fact that the Department is already underfunded coupled with a huge maintenance backlog, it is expected that the facilities infrastructure will deteriorate to a level which will require total refurbishment, upgrade and replacement,” said the Minister.
“Delayed delivery of Capital and Maintenance projects by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) are regarded as a common denominator for infrastructure failure and lack of adequate facilities,” he added.
Former Justice of the Constitutional Court, Edwin Cameron, wrote in a piece for GroundUp at the end of 2023 that many of South Africa’s prisons are (quite literally) falling apart.
“Much of it can be traced to our massive but often-dysfunctional DPWI: DPWI is responsible for most prison repairs – but too often seems unable to tackle even elementary maintenance,” wrote Cameron.
“The walls, ceilings, roofs, electrical and water reticulation, hot-water systems and perimeter fences of too many correctional centres are in a grave state of unattended disrepair.
“Why? Because of a cumbersome, often dead-end bureaucratic arrangement.
“All but the most trivial repairs, maintenance and construction requests have to be submitted to DPWI [but] too often DPWI is unresponsive [and] the visible result is awful,” added the former Chief Justice.
New DPWI minister Dean Macpherson recently said that the Department will carry out refurbishment, repair and capital projects for 24 departments, including that of correctional centres.
He said that 20 projects will be executed at correctional facilities at the expected cost of R286 million.
DCS stretched, but looking to turn it around
During his recent Budget Vote speech, Groenewald said that the DCS baseline was cut by R2.525 billion.
“The impact of these cuts is severe – the provision of security equipment is compromised; capital investment in skills developments were cut; the budget for nutritional services had to be cut; capital works projects will be on hold; and the monitoring of parolees could be negatively impacted.”
“We will and have to do more with less [which] will require innovation, discipline and commitment,” added the Minister.
Groenewald said that during the current financial year, the department must need to
- Prioritise addressing the areas of inefficiency in the department;
- Root out corruption and ill-discipline; and
- Restore effective service delivery to create a system that “not only corrects but heals, educates, reintegrates and contributes to the eradication of crime.”
“A well-trained and motivated staff is essential for creating a rehabilitative environment and ridding crime from our correctional facilities.
“An Overcrowding Reduction Strategy is being implemented, yet for it to succeed, all entities in the criminal justice system must work in unison. The Department cannot refuse to admit any person referred by the court regardless of its occupancy level,” added Groenewald.
A recently published Parliamentary oversight report with key findings and recommendations for the DCS and DPWI can be found here.
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