ActionSA has called on the Department of Correctional Services to be transparent regarding its plans for the Mangaung Correctional Centre.
The call comes after the termination of G4S’ concession to manage the correctional centre in Bloemfontein due to incompetence, which came to light after Thabo Bester escaped from the centre in May 2022.
Minister Ronald Lamola announced on Tuesday that the department will terminate its private partnership with G4S within 90 days.
In a statement, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba cautiously welcomed the decision but emphasized the need for accountability after the contract has ended.
Mashaba said the emergence of new information in the Bester case points to the involvement of many people in the jail break.
He added that the department’s failure to provide proper oversight over the facility should not be overlooked and that the department is ultimately responsible for citizens’ safety.
“This is a welcome step toward accountability following the escape of Thabo Bester in May last year,” Mashaba said.
“The Department of Correctional Services now has a responsibility to take South Africans into their confidence about their plans for the facility when the contract with G4S ends in 90 days.
“As further revelations about the escape have emerged, it has become clear that it was made possible through the complicity of several individuals.
“While G4S clearly failed in their mandate, the failure of DCS [the department] to provide proper oversight over the facility should not be ignored.”
Mashaba expressed concern that the contract would not have been terminated if the Bester escape had not been uncovered by the media, revealing the reactive nature of the department’s decision-making processes.
He also highlighted the high number of escapes from South African prisons in the 2021/22 financial year and the country’s crime pandemic, stressing the need for a holistic response.
South Africans need to have confidence in the criminal justice system, he said, noting that fixing this requires a systematic approach to restore the rule of law.
“How many other South African prisons are currently dysfunctional but are not receiving media attention, and thus no oversight from the Department of Correctional Services?
“South Africans are understandably concerned about the state of our correctional facilities in the wake of Bester’s escape. Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola admitted that in the 2021/22 financial year there were 22 prison escapes.
“South Africa is facing a crime pandemic. Earlier this year Police Minister Bheki Cele revealed that 82 people are killed in our country each day.”
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