Pretoria - Justice and Correctional Services Deputy Minister Thabang Makwetla has paid tribute to the eight correctional services officials who died in an accident last week.
Speaking at a memorial service on Tuesday, the Deputy Minister condemned the dangerous and reckless behaviour of South African motorists, calling for the return of law and mutual respect.
The accident took place on the N2 near Swellendam in the Western Cape, last Tuesday.
He said the deceased were correctional employees who performed their duties with unprecedented commitment and dedication.
“Correctional officials are the unsung heroes and heroines who have to look after those rejected by society.
“When the school teacher, the Sunday school teacher, the parents, the church and society at large has given up on these individuals, it is our correctional officials who have to come in and mould this person; who have to rehabilitate and inculcate a whole system of values of Ubuntu in this individual,” he said.
The eight officials lost their lives when the driver of an oncoming truck travelling at high-speed crashed into the correctional services minibus, forcing it off the road on the N2 between George and Cape Town. The eight officials were on their way to the Buffeljagsrivier Correctional Centre to start their second watch (duty).
“There is definitely something very, very wrong with motor vehicle drivers on the public roads of South Africa. I am still to visit another country around the whole world and find another nation that is as reckless on the road as we are.
“For example, the basic rule of driving says, ‘Keep Left, Pass Right’, but in South Africa you can swear that the rule says, ‘Keep Right Pass Left,” the Deputy Minister said.
Deputy Minister Makwetla expressed gratitude to the families of the late officials, thanking them for having shared their loved ones with the department.
He said the deaths of these officials will have a negative impact on the department, leading to a deficiency in institutional memory and at an operational level.
“Ideally, the Department of Correctional Services has to employ a workforce of 60 000 employees.
“We are currently standing at a mere 39 000 and hope to reverse this state-of-affairs urgently, if we are to address issues of the effective rehabilitation and successful social reintegration of offenders,” he said.
The names of the late officials are Bunit Hendrik Brand, Frederick Johannes Carstens, Joseph Klaase, Dawid Johannes Arries, Sydwill Vina Johnson, Ronzio Christopher Merrington, Nicolaas Jansen and Josephine Roseline Gertze.
A mass funeral for six of the officials will take place at the Swellendam Show Grounds at 11am on Saturday. – SAnews.gov.za
