Picture: Arthur Pose/HeartFM News
The Correctional Services Department wants to meet with sister Departments within the Justice Cluster, to discuss the myriad of challenges it’s facing.
The department is battling an age-old issue of overcrowding at prisons.
The department has conceded that the majority of its prisons in the country are at full capacity.
Here in the Western Cape, the centres are overcrowded by 45%.
There is also a dire shortage of beds in the province.
The department attributes the issue to ongoing national budget cuts and the failure of the department of Public Works and Infrastructure to fix several problems.
Those issues include the lack of maintenance of cells and buildings.
It’s also been revealed that portions of the perimeter fence, at the Goodwood Correctional Facility, need to be fixed as well as CCTV cameras.
Members of Parliament’s Correctional Services Portfolio Committee, had conducted an oversight visit at the Goodwood prison on Wednesday.
Deputy Minister Lindiwe Ntshalintshali says they can’t afford to see the department collapse and the country’s safety being compromised.
