Pretoria - Correctional Services National Commissioner Tom Moyane says many correctional centres need to emulate the good example set by Zonderwater Correctional Centre in Gauteng.
In terms of cleanliness and productivity, the centre stands 'head and shoulders' above many facilities in South Africa.
The Zonderwater Correctional Centre produces each year 307 tons of vegetables, as well as yoghurt, red meat, milk, poultry and slaughters about 1 000 chickens per day to supply a number of correctional centres in the Gauteng region.
The centre also boasts of artworks, extensive production of furniture and steel utensils to supply a number of government departments.
Commissioner Moyane has also undertaken to negotiate with the National Treasury to enable the sale of large stocks of artwork produced by offenders as part of their rehabilitation and correction of the offending behaviour.
He directed that a dedicated week for showcasing these artworks and selling them to the general public should be organised during this year. He said highly productive centres like Zonderwater should be encouraged as revenue generation centres of correctional services that contribute in ensuring self sufficiency.
Moyane addressed about 100 correctional managers from across the Gauteng region at the Zonderwater correctional centre and visited a chicken farm, a poultry abattoir, a yoghurt factory and large vegetable fields in the 2 400 hectare correctional centre farm.
Going through wood and steel factories, Moyane committed to ensure that some aging production equipment used at the facility are replaced with more modern equipment to improve productivity.
He congratulated the management of the department as well as SASSETA for bringing into the factories tens of ordinary law abiding young men and women from the surrounding community, who are trained to gained critical life and production skills alongside offenders at the factories.
Zonderwater Correctional Centre also houses 1 688 maximum offenders, 476 of which are lifers.
Moyane called for entrenchment of key values of integrity, commitment to excellence and accountability as pillars that would gear the department to perform better than it has done in many respects.
He praised managers for their commitment and contribution in helping the department achieve a 92% reduction in escapes during the festive season under the programme called Operation Vala.
He attributed the department's rating as the third most performing institution in fighting fraud and corruption in government to Correctional Managers that have demonstrated character, sometimes under very trying working conditions.
Moyane said hundreds of vacant positions are being filled since the lifting of a two-year moratorium and promised to ensure that greater capacity is built to deliver better and smarter and in meeting the targets set by Minister Mapisa-Nqakula for the fourth term of government.
He called on all correctional centres to spare no effort in ensuring that challenges of overcrowding, low victim participation in the parole system and low levels of offender access to rehabilitation programmes are addressed.
He said South Africans are investing over R15 billion each year for correctional services to effectively contribute in ensuring that South Africans are and feel safe.
"South Africans deserve better than we have delivered thus far", said Commissioner Moyane.
He has visited the Limpopo/Mpumalanga/North West region, Eastern Cape, Free State/Northern and Gauteng regions and will in due course also visit KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape regions to address correctional managers.
