9 17 6 - Correctional Services

i n s i d e
Viva
Imbeleko
3
Corrections
Honouring
M A N A G E M E N T N E W S
Contact
women
centre
opens lines
6
JULY/AUGUST 2009
Airwaves are
cooking in
Brandvlei
JULY/AUGUST 2009
Scooping hundreds
of medals at
international games
By Tshifhiwa Magadani and Braam Scheepers
9 17
A triumphant DCS team of 134
sportswomen and men returned
from Canada on 12 August
bringing home with them 216
medals.

SA Corrections Today is the national
internal newsletter of the Department
of Correctional Services, Republic of
South Africa
Patron: Minister of Correctional
Services, Deputy Minister of
Correctional Services
Editor in Chief: Bheki Manzini
Editor: Estelle Coetzee
Layout Editor: Nathan van den Bergh
Published by the Department of
Correctional Services, Private Bag
X136, Pretoria 0001.
Tel: (012) 307 2296 Fax: (012) 323 4942
Repro and printing facilitated by the
Government Printing Works, Pretoria.
The opinions expressed in SA
Corrections Today are those of
the authors and do not necessarily
represent those of the editor or the
Department of Correctional Services.
The editor reserves the right to alter any
contribution or not to publish it.
Letters to the editor that are published
in this newsletter represent the personal
view of the writers and do not reflect the
views of the Department of Correctional
Services. The editor reserves the right
to amend or reject letters. Letters should
be sent to The Editor, SA Corrections
Today, Private Bag X136, Pretoria
0001 and must be clearly marked “For
publication in SA Corrections Today”.
It can also be e-mailed to:
estelle.coetzee@dcs.gov.za
Copyright is reserved on all material in
this publication. Permission has to be
sought in writing.
M A N A G E M E N T N E W S
From the editor...
This year will probably go down as a difficult
year for most South Africans and
for the rest of the world due to the global
recession. However, it is in such times that
one should focus on factors that are causes
for optimism. DCS members’ sport achievements
in Canada in August are a strong indication
that we can be counted on as some of
the best in the world.
If one also consider ordinary members’
compassion and selflessness on Mandela Day
and the total effect their outreach projects
have had on the poor and neglected, then it
is easy to have faith in the abilities and com-
2 SA Corrections Today
mitment of DCS officials.
Project Imbeleko, initiated by the Ministry,
has sparked a renewed interest in the care of
babies behind bars. Perhaps it is opportune to
take this initiative further to the visiting areas
in our correctional centres.
The UK’s Prison Service News recently
reported on the effectiveness of their newly
established children and family visiting
rooms. They reckoned that since a significant
number of their offenders were fathers, they
wanted to encourage safe and friendly contact
between offender fathers and their children.
And so an idea was born.
Some of their NGO partners warmed to
the idea of strengthening the parenting role
of male offenders and helped
them to establish childfriendly
rooms complete
with toys and books. It is
hoped that such parentchild
contact will aid the rehabilitation
process of their
offenders. And they might
be right.
Go to MIS training and get clever
By Molatelo Mokumo
Correctional officials are urged to attend the two day
Management Information System (MIS) introductory course to
capacitate themselves with how to access up to date offender
information.
Said Martie Van Eeden (DD Offender
Information), “Knowing how to operate
the MIS enables members to
handle offender enquiries hassle-free. If
you are a manager, the system will help
you be a better manager because you
will know the nitty-gritty of the business
of corrections, particularly offender information.”
The training sessions were prompted by
the fact that correctional officials, including
senior managers, kept on frequenting
the Information Management Directorate
to request information that is available
on every member’s computer, had they
known how to access it.
Joseph Nkambule (ASD Offender Information)
conducted the sessions with the
theme, “Information is the new currency,
save it and distribute it wisely.”
Learning how to operate the MIS programme
is fairly simple. However, it was
a bit disappointing that members did not
respond so keenly with their attendance.
Mr Nkambule also regretted the ongoing
non-compliance that leads to the MIS
link being updated late. “We are supposed
to update the link on the third of
every month with offender information
from the 238 correctional centres. However,
we cannot update the system as
and when we please because we only
load 100% accurate information. If one
centre misses the deadline, we cannot
update,” he said.
Further dates of the ongoing course will
be announced on the intranet.

M A N A G E M E N T N E W S
Viva Imbeleko
By Estelle Coetzee
Eastern Cape Female Correctional Centre was abuzz on 26
August this year as preparations for the launch of the Imbeleko
project culminated into a successful event.
Almost at the onset of their term in
May this year, Minister Nosiviwe
Mapisa-Nqakula and Deputy
Minister Hlengiwe Mkhize made
their intentions clear about the
plight of babies in correctional
centres.
Although the law determines
that incarcerated mothers with
babies younger than two
years may keep their
infants with them
behind bars it does
not prevent social
workers to seek
and find alternative
care for them
before they reach
the age of two,
should the circumstances
of
the baby allow
for it.
Hence the birth of
project Imbeleko,
which evokes the African
tradition of embracing
a new born
and in this context
it invites the community
to embrace
babies behind bars.
With the Imbeleko initiative, the department
is sending out a call to communities to provide
the traditional warm skin, to hold these
babies close to their hearts and provide love
and care so that they can return to society and
grow up in a normal family situation.
Simple yet effective. The playground attests
to the fact that initiative and motivation
drive achievement.
Imbeleko is a two-pronged strategy. Firstly,
it is about looking at alternative placement of
babies out of correctional centres. Secondly,
it focuses internally by creating conducive
environments for babies.
At practical level in a correctional centre
Imbeleko translates into establishing a warm
and baby-friendly environment in the sections
where the mothers are kept with their
babies. It is here where the usual cold cell
JULY/AUGUST 2009
Deputy Minister Hlengiwe Mkhize connects
with one of the baby’s in the Eastern Cape’s
Female Correctional Centre during the
launch of the Imbeleko project.
floor makes room for a carpet as babies spend
lots of time on the floor. It is also here where
colour should abound and space be created
for a crèche complete with toys and a playground.
The normal development of these
toddlers is of paramount importance as well
as exposure to the external environment.
Eastern Cape Female Correctional Centre
lived up to all these expectations when
Deputy Minister Hlengiwe Mkhize launched
project Imbeleko at this East London facility
on 26 August. With the help of NGOs, business
and individuals as far afield as Port Elizabeth,
the mother-and-baby communal cell,
the crèche and the playground were trans-
Service providers who answered the call for
assistance establishing a warm and friendly
environment in the crèche interact with
some of the babies.
formed into pastel-coloured cots and beds,
colourful bed linen, neat curtains covering
the window bars, lots of toys and a carpet in
the crèche, and a simple yet functional playground
in the courtyard.
Both the Deputy Minister and the Regional
Commissioner for Eastern Cape, Nontsikelelo
Jolingana reiterated the department’s resolve
that “prison is not a place for children”.
“Developmental psychologists have taught
us that the children’s physical, emotional, social
and intellectual needs must all be met if
they are to enjoy life, develop their full potential
and grow into participating, contributing
adults. There is no doubt the environment is
of overriding importance to the development
of the child,” said Deputy Minister Mkhize.
Further explaining Imbeleko project, the
deputy minister said it “is a two-pronged
strategy which seeks to do what is in the best
interest of the child. Firstly, we seek to create
a child friendly environment within our
facilities, while the children are with their
incarcerated mothers. Secondly, we seek to
find alternative, secure protection centres,
either with the extended family or government
institutions or private homes for these
children.”
In 2008 the Correctional Services Act was
amended and one of the key features was to
Continued on page 4

Continued from page 3
reduce the age at which babies stayed with
their incarcerated mothers from five to two
years. This amendment followed intensive
desk research by the Directorate Social Work
Services in which they compared international
models. Practical research was conducted
by Nicro (2006) within DCS facilities attesting
to the idea that keeping babies behind
bars beyond two years of age has an adverse
M A N A G E M E N T N E W S
Medical experts research crime
patterns By Molatelo Mokumo
At a workshop attended by mental health experts and hosted
by Deputy Minister, Ms Hlengiwe Mkhize to discuss the
link between a person’s mental health status and the crime
committed, the department was asked to develop a model for
managing recidivism (repeat offending) and establish a strategy
for managing the mentally ill in its centres.
The workshop, held on 25 August at the
national office was attended by revered
giants in the fields of criminology, psychiatry
and psychology. They included Prof
Dan Mkize (Head of Clinical Medicine,
University of KwaZulu-Natal), Prof Annie
Hesselink (Specialist Counselor in Criminology,
UNISA) and Prof Tholene Sodi (Clinical
Psychologist, University of Venda).
Within the context of recidivism and overcrowding
in correctional centres, experts are
seeking to discover the root causes of the
situation.
Prof Mkize said medical health experts in
South Africa have never attempted to investigate
whether there is a link between a person’s
mental health status and the crime they
committed. In view of this it was agreed that
the department should decide on the approach
to follow, particularly with regard to managing
the mental health of the imprisoned.
The experts learned about some of the challenges
the department face in this regard:
• undiagnosed cases of mental illness
among incarcerated offenders
• insufficient resources for rehabilitation
impact on their development.
In August 2009 there were a total of 168 babies
within correctional centres. The regional
breakdown was as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Gauteng – 87
LMN – 20
KwaZulu-Natal – 23
Free State/Northern Cape – 12
Western Cape – 19
Eastern Cape – 9
Regional Commissioner Jolingana explained
her region’s initiatives that tie in
programmes aimed at such inmates
little collaboration for obtaining historical
data about such offenders
the concept of mental illness is not
widely understood.
Deputy Minister Mkhize said there were
two major challenges in the department,
namely overcrowding and recidivism. “Our
facilities are almost 200% full. It is disturbing
to see offenders being rearrested hardly
six months after their release. It is further
discouraging because they move from petty
crimes to aggressive crimes.”
Departmental statistics reveal that the age
at which people commit serious and violent
crimes are getting younger and younger.
The Deputy Minister said patterns such as
this have prompted her to arrange the workshop.
“We want to, through the wisdom of
experts, ascertain whether the mental health
status of offenders have contributed towards
them committing the type of crimes they are
serving time for. We hope that through your
knowledge in the field of health and criminology
and related practices, we can get answers
SA Corrections Today
closely with the Imbeleko initiative . One
such is to entice community members to
adopt a baby for a weekend so that the babies
can gradually become familiar with the
outside world.
The Branch Development and Care, in
partnership with the Deputy Minister’s office
embraces the Imbeleko initiative, which is
to be spearheaded by the Directorate Social
Work Services in all the regions in order to
improve the lives of babies of incarcerated
mothers.
Experts who are on course to establish
the link between a person’s mental health
status and the crimes they commit
that will help us deal better with offenders in
our care,” she said.
Elaborating further she explained, “We
want to determine whether the law adequately
guides us in the trial processes and incarceration
of people with mental health challenges.
We are in the process of reviewing the criminal
justice system. Experts need to contribute
to this significant change so that proper
amendments could be made,” she said.
Prof Dan Mkize set the pace with his presentation,
saying that men and women with
mental illnesses are more likely to be convicted
of violent crimes. He added that drug
abuse has contributed to the increase of
crime.
Prof Anni Hesselink also attempted to solve
the puzzle with her presentation on determining
the contributions of experts in the design,
implementation and monitoring of effective
rehabilitation programmes in correctional
centres.
Prof Tholene Sodi shared lessons learned
from strategies to reduce recidivism by noting
that cases that attract media attention often
also attract the attention of psychologists,
Prof Dan Mkize presenting the first
objective of the workshop.
psychiatrists and criminologists while low
key cases, though equally serious and horrific
in nature, escape this kind of attention.
Many topics for research were raised by
participants from the department. Some of
them were: managing offenders who committed
substance-induced crimes, screening
offenders for psychological disorders and
referrals to psychiatric hospitals.

Needless to say, the department has been
searching for solutions to some of the
most pressing issues and it seems that
the time for relief has come in the form of
technology.
The Chief Directorate Remand Detention
Systems and Security headed by Deputy
Commissioner Willem Damons is on the
verge of implementing a broadcast solution
that will see remand detainees
being put on trial from within correctional
centres via a live satellite broadcast
service.
The system involves cameras and
monitors in two locations: in a court
room from where a magistrate or judge
will preside and a substitute court room
inside a correctional centre where the
offender will be seated. The trial will be
transmitted live between the two locations
via satellite recording.
Witnesses, family members of the
accused, the public and an interpreter,
where needed, will still be attending a
trial at the court room from where they
will follow proceedings.
The Video Arraignment Solution, as it has
been dubbed, was tested live on 28 August
between Pretoria Correctional Centre and the
Pretoria Magistrate Court.
For the testing officials posed as remand
M A N A G E M E N T N E W S
Video solution for detainees
awaiting trial By Molatelo Mokumo
The effective management of detainees in correctional centres
who are awaiting trial has been a headache for the department
for a long while as it consumes a lot of resources in terms of
staff, overcrowding and finances.
detainees and the magistrates tried them
for various offences live from the magistrate
court. The project was initially piloted
in 2005 and 2006 at St Albans Correctional
Centre in the Eastern Cape.
Given the recession and the belt tightening
measures that have hit the country and the
department, the new system is, according to
Remand detainee Patrick Sebanyoni’s (not real name) trial
continues via live transmission.
Mr Collin Govender (Director Security and
Infrastructure), exactly what the doctor have
ordered. He said once the system is fully operational,
it will save the department millions
of rands, time and bring relief from administrative
red tape.
JULY/AUGUST 2009
Officials view the live transmission of court
proceedings as offender Patrick Mawela
(not real name) appears for culpable
homicide.
“It will mean that we do not have to transport
remand detainees to and from the courts.
It will reduce labour and transport costs. We
will no longer bear the risk of escapes during
transportation to and from the courts. The
risk of smuggling of illegal substances will
be minimal because once detainees reach our
facilities, they will only be moved once their
fate has been decided,” explained Mr Govender.
“This is a great achievement and it will reduce
the risk to staff and the public as we
strive to create a safer environment for all
South Africans. The system will enable us
to comply with the security regulations that
require us to minimise the risk to the public
when moving detainees between locations,”
added Mr Govender who is also the project
leader of the broadcast solution.
Mr Damons was among those who witnessed
the testing on 28 August and he was
Trial proceedings are followed in real time
on the television screen.
ecstatic that the project was kicking off. He
said the Department of Justice and Constitutional
Development will become the
owner of the system and that department
will be responsible for its costs.
“We are ready to implement this solution.
Pretoria will be the first to go live
and 21 other centres will follow in this
financial year. Forty seven magistrates’
courts countrywide will be linked up to
the system during the first phase that involves
22 centres,” he said.
The plan is to roll out the system to
another nine centres in the 2010/11 financial
year.
At Pretoria Central, four rooms have
been set aside to serve as court rooms.
The success of the Video Arraignment
Solution will go a long way towards
easing the burden that came with the belttightening
measures to contain expenditure
in the department. Of late budgets had to be
shifted to make ends meet and the predicament
is said to remain until the end of the
current financial year.
5

M A N A G E M E N T N E W S
Agents Joel Ntabane and Omphi Kepadisa showing DC Phiko Mbambo from the office of the
Commissioner and Western Cape RC James Smalberger how to operate the contact centre
equipment.
Corrections Contact Centre
opens lines to officials
By Molatelo Mokumo
Acting National Commissioner Ms Jenny Schreiner marked yet
another milestone that enhances information access when she
launched the first phase of the Corrections Contact Centre (CCC)
for members’ use on 29 July.
The contact centre serves as a single point
of entry into the department for the purpose
of enhancing front office service
delivery and quality of service.
The launch started with a presentation of
the centre’s planned and current programmes,
followed by a tour of the facilities where 22
call agents were on duty to guide the visitors.
The call centre agents flaunted their musical
skills by singing a tune, ‘avulekile amasango’,
meaning the heavens have opened
up for the department to prosper through the
contact centre.
The department’s spokesperson, DC Communications
Manelisi Wolela expressed a
sense of relief that the contact centre will
ease the load of enquiries he has to deal with
on a daily basis.
”My private line has been listed as an enquiry
number of the department. I have to entertain
all sorts of enquiries, including people
looking for employment sometimes in the
wee hours of the morning. The contact centre
will certainly ease the load on my shoulders
and I’m glad this day has come,” he said before
leading the Acting National Commissioner
to officially launch the centre.
“Our biggest challenge is to transform
Correctional Services. Today we are implementing
another milestone envisaged in the
White Paper. We have delivered phase one
by opening the centre to the internal publics.
Correctional officials are
reminded to make use of the
contact centre for any workplace
related enquiry
We must still work hard to make it a service
delivery tool for all people of South Africa,”
Ms Schreiner said.
She gave an example in which the contact
centre can practically enhance service delivery.
The department is concerned about
the low visitation rates its offenders experience.
Currently only about 27% of offenders
SA Corrections Today
are being visited by friends and family. This
does not bode well for the eventual reintegration
back into society when offenders are
released as family ties are not strengthened
when families do not visit their loved ones
behind bars.
In future offender visitors will call the contact
centre to schedule their visit ahead of
time. However, this is only part of phase 2
of the project.
Ms Schreiner said the contact centre can
only be successful if management explores
all its avenues and put it to good use.
The custodian of the contact centre, DC
GITO, Jack Shilubane, talked about another
feature of the centre, that being its tracking
device. ”We will be able to monitor the response
time to calls and enquiries and thereby
know how efficient we are in providing
certain kinds of information.”
Tshego Moyo, who is seven months into
her job as a call centre agent described the
experience of working with offender enquir-
DC GITO, Jack Shilubane and FS & NC
Regional Commissioner Zack Modise
observe how agent Ingrid Da Fonseca
assists callers.
ies as eye opening particularly because she
knew nothing about Correctional Services
when she took up the job. Some of the common
enquiries they were dealing with were
about the OSD and 7-day establishment.
Correctional officials are reminded to make
use of the contact centre for any workplace
related enquiry, be it about how many leave
credits you have to requests for documentation.
Two matters are guaranteed; one being that
someone will always answer your call and
secondly, someone will always get back to
you with an answer, even if it takes a while.
Dial your call centre now for any
staff-related query at
0860 27 2273

M A N A G E M E N T N E W S
New smoking legislation
in force Sapa
Two pieces of legislation that dramatically increase smoking
fines and crack down on tobacco companies have been signed
into law, the National Council Against Smoking said in August.
The acts make it illegal for adults to
smoke in a car where there is a child
under 12, and pave the way for picture
warnings such as diseased lungs on
cigarette packs.
“The new laws will have dramatic, important
and far-ranging effects on public
health and the tobacco industry’s marketing
activities,” said council director Dr
Yussuf Saloojee. Saloojee said fines for
smoking or allowing smoking in a nonsmoking
area increased with immediate
effect.
The fine for the owner of a restaurant,
pub, bar or workplace that breached the
smoking laws was now a maximum of
R50 000, and for the individual smoker
R500.
Smoking was now illegal in “partially
enclosed” public places such as covered
patios, verandas, balconies, walkways
and parking areas.
Nor was it allowed on premises,
including private homes used for
commercial childcare activities, or for
schooling or tutoring.
The tobacco industry was no longer
permitted to hold “parties” or use “viral”
marketing to target young people.
The sale of tobacco products to and by
people under 18 years was prohibited,
as was the sale of confectionery or toys
resembling tobacco products.
The use of picture-based health warnings
on tobacco packaging would come
into effect only later this year, because
the health ministry was still finalising
regulations.
Young officials elected onto Rooigrond’s Youth Structure did their first community service
by cleaning the windows of a school for the disabled.
Youth reminded of history
By Lewies Davids
A Youth Structure for Rooigrond Management Area was
launched with a bang on 29 August this year. The structure will
serve officials younger than 35 years.
Head of Rooigrond Correctional
Centre Mr Jimmy Nomandla reminded
the young officials of the
history of South Africa by saying, “the
youth of South Africa had assembled in
small units to ensure that their issues
were addressed”. Nomandla mentioned
Tsietsi Mashinini who is not known to
many young officials today. At 8am on
June 16, 1976 Tsietsi Mashinini interrupted
the school assembly to lead the
first group of students out of the gates
Also in the pipeline were regulations
to keep smoking away from entrances
to buildings, and restrict it in sports stadiums,
railway platforms, bus stops and
outdoor dining areas.
Saloojee said tobacco killed 44 000
South Africans every year, three times
more than vehicle accidents. “Our efforts
to reduce the death toll will be helped by
the new legislation,” he said.
Prevalence of adult smoking in South
Africa had fallen by a third in the past
decade, from 32 percent in 1995 to 22
percent in 2006.
and on the march that started the Soweto
uprising. They were protesting the use
of Afrikaans in schools. A reward was
posted for his capture and one afternoon
security police checked every student
leaving the grounds. Mashinini, who was
a prefect at Morris Isaacson, escaped
detection by dressing up as a girl. After
the march he never slept at home again
and fled the country two months later.
“Young officials should not be known
for their absenteeism, corruption or dismissals,
but rather comply with the policies
and regulations of the department,”
Nomandla said.
The young officials who attended the
launch participated in serious discussions
around their role in 2010, relationships
in the work environment, HIV and
AIDS, drug and substance abuse and
career pathing.
Keynote speaker Rev. Obakeng Ditshwene
said that officials should at an early
stage of their careers ensure that they
prioritise skills development and education.
In a demonstration of their determination
to make a difference, the elected
youth structure and about 80 other
young officials went to Retlhametswe
school for disabled children to pick up
garbage, clean the school yard and wash
windows.
JULY/AUGUST 2009 7

S TA F F N E W S
Good Governance ambassador tells
how he achieved success
By Puleng Mokhoane
Officials in the Free State and Northern Cape proved during
the Corrections Excellence Awards held earlier this year that
individual excellence was in abundance in the region.
Representing the region’s winning team
were Mr Vaughan Owen Feder (Good
Governance award), Mr Johannes Prinsloo
(Public Safety award) and Ms Seipati
Dichabe (Masibambisane award).
Vaughan explains how he bagged the
Good Governance Award. He said when
his name was called that evening at Emperors
Palace, his heart was beating fast
with excitement.
“Before the programme director announced
the first prize winner, I took
my wife’s hand and prayed. I then heard
my name being called. The moment was
so great I cannot explain it in words.
Ascending the stage was like climbing
the steps to the Kingdom of God. I only
later realized that I had achieved one of
the greatest milestones in my career.“
Vaughan said in the 23 years that he
has been with the department he always
tried his level best to comply with the department’s
Code of Conduct, policies and
procedures and to live the White Paper on
Corrections.
“I strive to be an ideal correctional official
at work. All my efforts have finally delivered
results. I have a clear and decisive vision and
goal in life which manifests to a high standard
of service delivery. I went through all the
categories and profiled myself as a candidate
for Good Governance. I saw myself as
a champion of efficiency and effectiveness,
preventing corruption to ensure transformation
and promoting integrity in my work
place,“ he explained. .
Vaughan works as the Area Coordinator:
Corporate Services at Grootvlei. He has contributed
towards placing Grootvlei Manage-
Routine checks: Mr Vaughan Owen Feder consulting with
his secretary Ms Sinah Xakane about business activities
ment Area in high esteem. Over time his efforts
have led to:
• eliminating audit queries by ensuring
compliance
• finalising disciplinary actions within the
prescribed time frames
• reporting malpractices, fraud and corruption
to higher levels of authority
• developing anti-fraud and anti-corruption
plans as proactive measures of
compliance
• establishing an integrated debt and loss
control committees to recover debts due
to the State
SA Corrections Today
Mr Vaughan Owen Feder explaining the
conditions of the Occupation Specific
Dispensation to his colleagues Mr Shaiks
Seatile and Mr Rantlane Molemela
•
•
implementing measures to reduce misuse
of state funds
utilising various compliance and improvement
tools, and monitoring and
evaluation systems to ensure efficient,
economical, transparent and accountable
administration in the work place.
He advises that officials need to practice
good governance at their respective workplaces
in order to become effective and professional
in executing their work. Vaughan
believes that all correctional officials have
the potential to showcase examples of excellence.
When asked whether his winning has inspired
him to do more at work he answered,
“Human beings need to be patted on their
shoulders as a sign of acknowledgement of
the good work they do in their field. This
award has inspired me to change the way I
do things and start to work smarter. It has
made me even more sensitive towards compliance,
more effective, open and transparent
in my daily operations. But it has
also brought more pressure because all
eyes are on me.”
“If circumstances allow me to enter in
another category in future, I will participate
again. I don’t see it as a competition
but as a way of pushing myself to the
limit. I strive to be perfect in everything
I do and I take responsibility for all my
actions.”
His then supervisor, Mr Langa Bikane
who was the Area Commissioner of
Grootvlei and is currently the Regional
Head: Corporate Services, said he would
have been disappointed if Vaughan came
back empty handed. He described Feder
as a workaholic. “Feder remains focused in
everything he does. He is a hard-worker and
always checks that whatever he does is within
the right policy framework of the department,”
explained Mr Bikane.
Encouraging all his colleagues in the department,
Vaughan said, “Not all people can
be chiefs. There has to be subjects of the chief
and all will be rewarded accordingly. All
members have God-given talents and abilities
to shine. Members need to stay focused
in life, make the right choices and decisions,
and share good practices and life experiences
with their fellow colleagues.”

IMBOKODO: the strength
of a woman
August 9, 2009 marked 53 years since South African women led
a massive protest march to the Union Building against the pass
laws, which determined that people of colour had no freedom of
movement and had to carry passes with them all the time.
In 1952 the Native Laws Amendment Act denied blacks access to
urban areas. In the same year the Natives Abolition of Passes and
Coordination of Documents Act was passed. According to this act,
all documents that black men were required to carry were replaced
with one document – the reference/pass book. It further stipulated that
African women had to also carry the reference book.
Fun in the sun: members and probationers enjoying a boat trip
during Women’s Month.
Mossel Bay mixes fun and
work on Women’s Day By Johan Pienaar
Euphemia Visser, social worker at Mossel Bay Correctional
Centre did not let the department’s budget cuts and call for
belt tightening prevent her from organising a special day
for her female colleagues and probationers during Women’s
Month as none of the activities she had organised had any financial
consequences for DCS.
The members started their day with a visit to the local provincial
hospital where astonished patients were cheered up, hugged
and each handed some reading material. Some members even
made their cellular phones available to patients for them to call
their families.
Then it was off to the harbour where they boarded the Romanza
for a trip around Seals Island. Once the yacht left the
calm waters of the harbour, some of the women moved to safer
positions while one or two tried to personify Kate Winslett in the
famous Titanic movie. While the boat trip was fun at the onset
for some, for others it meant the overcoming of fear.
To round off the special day, the women gathered in the public
park for a traditional picnic and here they listened to a motivational
speaker.
The probationers, who are being monitored by Community
Corrections, spent their day after their boat trip on Santos
beach where they participated in a sand castle competition, listened
to an expert on women issues and enjoyed a picnic on
the beach.
W O M E N ’ S D AY
Correctional officials Shanaaz de Klerk, Juanita Sass, Franzell
Levendal and Jolene Crotz enjoying themselves at the occasion.
Honouring women
Area Commissioner, Jeremy Matheyse spoiled the female
correctional officials of Drakenstein Management Area
with a free breakfast to celebrate Women’s Month.
The officials were inspired by the keynote speaker, Ms Eugenia
Jacobs, the local magistrate with her vibrant and dynamic
presentation on the rights of women, especially within the
domestic context. Besides being entertained by the chocolate
dancers from Franschhoek and a pianist from Paarl, the women
jumped for joy when Mr Matheyse responded to a request
and rendered an Elvis Presley song.
Acting Area Commissioner of Polokwane, Mr Arnold Sikhwivhilu
with Absa staff
Women benefit
By Susan Minnaar
Polokwane Correctional Centre was fortunate enough to receive
baby clothes, toys, nappies, soap and baby powder from Absa
Bank in view of Women’s Month. They made the donation on
14 August.
The Absa staff said they wanted to reach out to babies who were
with their mothers in correctional facilities.
JULY/AUGUST 2009 2009
9

M A N D E L A D AY
Extract from President Zuma’s address
“Mandela Day will be celebrated on 18 July each year. It will give people in South Africa and all over the
world the opportunity to do something good to help others. Madiba was politically active for 67 years, and
on Mandela Day people all over the world, in the workplace, at home and in schools, will be called upon to
spend at least 67 minutes of their time doing something useful within their communities, especially among
the less fortunate.”
In line: staff and children stand quietly for a moment of grace. At
the back third from right is Mr Kosie Sinclair, Area Commissioner of
Allandale Management Area.
Hawequa’s 67 minutes
Hawequa Correctional Centre in Wellington has adopted the Blou
Vlei Primary School in Wellington as part of its Madiba Day
celebrations. Correctional officials have generated funds for the
initiative out of their own pockets to feed the children of Blou Vlei.
67 Minutes spent with
disabled persons
By Susan Minnaar
Staff in the Area Commissioner’s office and Polokwane Correctional
Centre visited Polokwane Centenary House, a home for
the disabled, where they handed over non-perishable food donations.
Officials entertained the residents of Centenary House with dancing,
and playing table tennis, fingerboard and soccer against them.
0
Children, youth, community members and officials gather around
the Mandela Statue after they had completed the fun walk in
Mandela Day.
67 Minutes of goodwill at Drakenstein
By Manfred Jacobs
SA Corrections Today
Officials and offenders at Drakenstein Management Area heeded
the call of President Zuma to do something good for the many
poor and vulnerable people in our communities.
Since the idea behind Mandela Day was to spend at least 67 minutes
of one’s time doing good in the community, a group of 37 offenders
(17 youth and 20 adults) were selected to clean the church grounds of
the United Reformed Church in Paarl-East.
Both the offenders and accompanying officials cleaned the almost
three and a half hectares of church grounds. To crown the effort, a
SABC news crew came to witness their work. Three offenders were
given the opportunity to tell the rest of South Africa what Mandela
Day meant to them and also what they endeavor to do on this day in
future when they were no longer incarcerated.
The officials back at Drakenstein also joined hands and responded
positively to Area Commissioner, Jeremy Matheyse’s call to donate
R40 each to purchase blankets and or to donate non-perishable food.
Regional Commissioner James Smalberger handed over both the
blankets and foodstuff to two needy organisations from the communities
of Franschhoek and Paarl respectively.
Thereafter officials, school children and residents at Drakenstein
walked the inaugural Liberty Fun walk, which covers the 3.5km road
between Mandela House and the Mandela statue. A selected group of
25 people then completed a relay walk from Madiba House to the office
of the Area Commissioner which ended in handing over a torch.
The youngest torch carrier was four years old and he carried the torch
about 300 meters.
Area Commissioner Jeremy Matheyse received the torch at the exact
spot where Mr. Mandela got out of the vehicle for his first walk as
a free person in 1990. Matheyse handed the torch over to the Regional
Commissioner as the 27th recipient.
The event was rounded off by the marimba and brass band from
Pollsmoor and the local youth offender band, Uprising Stars. At the
end everybody sang a birthday song for Tata Madiba.

Offenders relish the rare opportunity of celebrating Mandela Day
with their families
Bringing families and
offenders together
By Advice Ramonnye
The expression, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
was significant for Klerksdorp Management Area when
they thought they should do more to bring families and
offenders together as part of the 67-minute campaign for Mandela
Day. Open days in which families of offenders visit them
for a whole day were held at Potchefstroom Correctional Centre
on 16 and 17 July, on 23 and 24 July at Klerksdorp Centre
of Excellence, on 28 July at Wolmaranstad Satellite Unit and
Christiana Satellite Unit on 29 July.
Family reunion. The theme “Bringing families and offenders
together”, made it possible for the pictured offender to celebrate
Mandela Day with his family.
In his briefings to both offenders and their families, Area Commissioner,
Dr Rampou Mohoje said it was the first time for the
whole management area to have organised such a coordinated
attempt at strengthening the bonds between families and offenders.
“By doing this, we include families in the rehabilitation process
as offenders come from families. The department wants to ensure
that when offenders are released, they go to families that
will welcome them back,” said Dr Mohoje. He lamented the fact
that every time a police vehicle brings an offender to the centre
to begin his sentence, one should know that the family or the
community at large has failed that person.
The events at each centre was characterised by a relaxed
atmosphere, a braai and entertainment that spiced up the proceedings.
These included songs rendered by offender choirs
and the Jouberton Marimba group.
M A N D E L A D AY 2 0 0 9
JULY/AUGUST 2009
Mr Vusumzi Sontlaba (Acting Head: Dwarsrivier Correctional Centre)
with community members of Wolsely busy cleaning
Breede River on Madiba
Day By Simphiwe Xaphe
Breede River Management Area followed the call by President
Jacob Zuma to spend at least 67 minutes rendering humanitarian
service on 18 July in honour of former President Nelson
Rolihlahla Mandela’s birthday. The Management Area consists of
Robertson, Warmbokkeveld and Breede River Correctional Centres.
Warmbokkeveld Correctional Centre led by the Head Correctional
Centre, Mr Vuyisile Koli, spent 67 minutes cleaning Sisonke Old Age
home in Nduli Township, Ceres. The cleaning focused on removing
rubbish and weeds on the premises. About 10 officials were involved
in this project.
Dwarsrivier Correctional Centre went to Wolseley and assisted community
members in cleaning the streets of the town.
Robertson Correctional Centre invited motivational speakers from
the local municipality and a local economic development centre to
address offenders on that day.
Breede River’s Area Commissioner, Cecil Petersen, congratulated
all those who volunteered and made the day a memorable one.
Voorberg’s 67
minutes
By Mariska Pietersen
Thirty eight learners of
Brandenberg Primary School
in the Voorberg Management
Area have received brand new
school shoes and socks in view of
Madiba Day. The 38 learners were
identified by the head master as being
most affected by poverty.
Brandenberg is a farm school
and some of the learners walk two
kilometres to school without shoes
on in the winter, and Voorberg is a
cold place to be in during winter.
The staff of Voorberg Management Area gave true meaning to the
Area Commissioner of Voorberg,
Mr. HJ Jansen hands out brand
new school shoes and socks to a
happy beneficiary.
expression, “The power of public good does not require public office,
just a well-placed heart and a determined mind”.

M A N D E L A D AY 2 0 0 9
Leading Madiba
celebrations in
style By
Mapopozana Mashinini
Witbank Management Area started celebrating the
legacy of the world icon and leader of all time, ahead of
all scheduled celebrations on 17 July, days before his
birth date.
A house
that was described by the
Mayor of Steve Tshwete Municipality,
Mr Mathlakeng Mahlangu,
as being engulfed by social ills was
cleaned and restored to its former pride
by parolees a month earlier. On 17 July
the mayor handed it back to its owners,
the Maseko family from Tembisa, Mhluzi.
The parolees followed the leadership of
the head of community corrections, Mr
Timothy Malinga, who collaborated with
Greater Middelburg Housing Association,
the municipality and a clothing store
in refurbishing and restoring the dilapidated
house of the Maseko’s.
Acting Regional Commissioner of Limpopo,
Mpumalanga and North-West
(LMN) region, Ms Lunga Tseana, handed
over another house renovated by offenders
in Kwaggafontein on 18 July. The
house belongs to granny Lizbeth Mahlangu
who was a victim of violent crime.
Among those who heeded the call for
committing 67 minutes of their time to
community work was Mpumalanga
MEC for Human Settlement
and rural development,
Mr Madala Masuku, Ms Zodwa
Mahlangu from United Nations
and Mr Nhlanhla Khoza, HOD
for Safety and Security. These
officials literally joined offenders
in mixing cement and sand to put finishing
touches to the house.
The youth of Mhluzi Township, led by
the local Youth Council chairperson, Mr
Muzi Kunene rounded off the celebrations
by returning a visit by offenders
from Middelburg Centre of Excellence.
Juvenile offenders were invited by SAPS
to motivate and inspire them in an anticrime
campaign held at the multi-purpose
centre. This time around Mr Kunene motivated
and informed the inmates of opportunities
that the government has for
them. He further encouraged them not
to commit crime again and rather seek
ways that will create opportunities for
2
SA Corrections Today
Acting Regional Commissioner Ms Lunga
Tseana handing over the keys to granny Lizbeth
Mahlangu’s renovated house
clean and profitable lifestyles which will
result in a crime free South Africa and responsible
citizenship.
They then planted trees at the correctional
facility to symbolize their partnership
and commitment to working towards
crime and poverty eradication. The offenders’
library also benefited from copies
of “The long walk to freedom” by
Madiba, which was donated by Government
Communication Information Systems.
Six hours and
seven minutes at
Rooigrond By Lewies Davids
Instead of giving 67 minutes of their time
to honour the legacy of Madiba, Rooigrond
offenders (pictured) gave six hours and
seven minutes a day for the entire week before
Nelson Mandela’s birthday from 13 to
17 July to clean up Nelson Mandela drive
in Mafikeng. Nelson Mandela drive is the
nerve centre of Mafikeng as it runs straight
through town and connects South Africa with
Botswana at the Ramathlabama border post.
Recently Nelson Mandela drive received a
major face lift, with long bright street poles,
special grained stone artifacts, Aloe Vera
plants and cemented clay pots.

Helping Tshwane Home of Hope
By Tshifhiwa Magadani
“Let’s have a blossoming desert, let’s have flowers from
Tshwane Home of Hope,” said Acting National Commissioner Ms
Jenny Schreiner during a gift handover to this shelter for abused
girls in Pretoria.
The gifts were donated by caring correctional
officials throughout August and
handed over on 28 August.
The centre was opened as a shelter for
abused girls seven years ago after an SABC
broadcast showed children as young as seven
sleeping on the streets of Sunnyside.
The department deemed it fit to donate gifts
in the form of non-perishable goods to the institution
that accommodates 25 young girls,
of which the youngest is nine years old.
Ms Schreiner had this motherly advice to
the children, “When opportunities arise grab
them with both hands and never give up in
life,” she said directing her remarks to one
girl who has since matriculated and was
working at a bank.
DCS members with Tshwane Home of Hope
children and staff during the gifts handover
When asked what prompted a partnership
with the shelter, Ms Schreiner said poverty
alleviation was one of the department’s key
concerns and “we want to establish friendly
partnerships with communities. We are helping
these girl children as part of our celebrations
in Women’s Month.
“This place nearly had to close its doors
S E RV I C E D E L I V E R Y
Helping hand.
Acting National
Commissioner Ms
Jenny Schreiner
assists a young girl to
prepare her bed and
wall cabinet.
due to financial constraints but today it feels
good to say that we have 12 sponsors. Our
sincere gratitude goes to the Department of
Correctional Services for always being willing
to open their hearts to help us,” said Ms
Martha Mohlala, director of Tshwane Home
of Hope..
When asked about challenges in running
the shelter, Martha said when good Samaritans
open their hearts to help, the challenges
are minimal. She did not mince her words
about people who take advantage of abused
children, referring to an Eastern Cape social
worker who was arrested for human trafficking
in young girls.
Officials went to the centre in numbers to
provide services such as gardening, cleaning,
and cooking. Ms Schreiner and Ms Dorothy
Makhuza (Director Gender Desk) were
among them. Mr Hento Davids (DC Equity
and Recreation) and Mr Sandile Mthembu
were manning the garden while Ms Makhuza
helped with cooking. She was spotted peeling
fruit for the kids and said in Setswana, “A
refepeng bana” which loosely translates into,
“let’s feed our children.”
The stories about how some of the girls
ended up at the shelter can send shivers
down one’s spine. The youngest girls at the
centre (9), was taken away from her mother
after being forced to undress for an elder man
while they were drinking “unholy water” in
different “caves” around Sunnyside.
Another girl, Dima (not her real name),
(12) struggled with holding back her tears
when responding to a question about what
she wanted to be when she grew up. A pilot,
she responded, sucking her thumb.
JULY/AUGUST 2009
A group of learners in a court yard inside
a correctional centre listen attentively to
what is explained to them.
Combined
efforts for crime
awareness pay
off By Moses Nkabinde
Witbank Management Area, in
partnership with the Nkangala
district departments
of education, community safety
and security liaison have recently
run a crime awareness campaign
by showing school learners what
life behind bars is like while educating
them about the corrections
system.
The campaign reached more than
600 children from ten schools in
the Nkangala District, plus their
educators and representatives
from the school governing bodies.
The visitors were shown the process
of admission to a correctional
centre, the assessment of an offender
and examples of rehabilitation
programmes. They also toured
the juvenile awaiting trial detainee
centre.
Accompanying the learners were
senior representatives of the three
departments mentioned.
The tour included a drama performance
by inmates, depicting
the hardships of incarceration
which include time wasted, separation
from loved ones and lack of
freedom.
The learners experienced the
inside of a juvenile awaiting trial
correctional centre and a special
care unit where a sentenced juvenile
inmate related his life in a correctional
centre.

R E G I O N A L N E W S
Garden of Eden in Modimolle By Lucky Hlophe
In 2008 the HIV and AIDS Directorate
and the HR Support Directorate
adopted an orphanage, Dira o direloe
in Modimolle, Limpopo. The orphanage
takes care of children whose parents
succumb to HIV and AIDS. At the time
of adoption the orphanage housed 68
children. When officials from the national
office, accompanied by the head of the
correctional centre and project leader,
Erastus Mocke visited the centre in early
September, they found everything spick
Lost son taken home By
Advice Ramonnye
For the past two years there has been a man sleeping on the
sidewalk at the entrance to businesses in the small town of
Bothaville in the Free State.
Three generous business people in the
town took pity on him and they have
been feeding him ever since.
This came to the attention of Bothaville
Community Corrections’ officials and
they undertook to investigate his situation.
Thanduxolo Bhuxa opened up to the caring
officials and gave them the name and address
of his family. The officials phoned Moth-
Tseko Motloung and Thys Moletsane
rescued Thanduxolo (right) from the
wilderness
erwell Police Station in the Eastern Cape,
which was where the man said he came from.
The police assured the members that they
will investigate the matter.
They later revealed that Thanduxolo left
home in 2006 for Cape Town to visit his
younger sister who had just gotten employ-
Impressed: from left
are Molapisi Makau,
Ramanee Hira,
Hlophe Lucky and
Gladys Rantete during
the monitoring and
evaluation visit.
and span. The national officials visited
the project with the view to offer support
and assess the long term sustainability of
it. What they found was a budding vegetable
garden, enough to nourish its 108
children and 11 HIV positive adults. Lots
of green beans, cabbage, spinach, carrots,
pumpkins and squashes were ready
to be harvested. The vegetables are harvested
every Monday and Wednesday
by the seven voluntary care takers from
the orphanage.
ment there. His family has been searching for
him ever since. It still remains a mystery how
Thanduxolo arrived in Bothaville.
His family arrived in Bothaville on 24 July
to fetch him. They could not believe what
they saw but were happy that their son was
alive. His father, Mr Lumkile Bhuxa thanked
the officials and requested to be taken to the
businessmen who have fed his son to personally
thank them. The family arrived safely
back in the Eastern Cape and informed Bothaville
Community Corrections that they have
The estranged Thanduxolo living on the
streets of Bothaville before being rescued
by officials of Bothaville Community Corrections
office.
held a cleansing, welcoming and thanking
ceremony for their lost son.
SA Corrections Today
Pastor Jerome Samuels (acting AC: Development
& Care) responds to questions by
RSG presenter, Johnny Davids.
Live radio broadcast
at Drakenstein
By Manfred Jacobs
Well-known Afrikaans radio station,
RSG (Radio Sonder Grense)
recently dedicated two hours of
their morning show, ‘Oggend op RSG’
to the activities at Drakenstein Management
Area. RSG presenters Martelize
Brink, Pattra Mei and Johnny Davids
conducted interviews with officials, offenders
and external services providers
at Drakenstein and covered all aspects of
programmes and service delivery in the
Management Area. A young offender had
an opportunity to recite a poem whereafter
the adult offender choir, youth band
and gumboot dancers provided the listeners
with inspirational performances.
Employee
structures launched
at Rooigrond
By Sydney Makgoke
Various employee committees were
introduced to Rooigrond staff in July
with the aim to strengthen a positive
organizational culture among members.
The structures include a health and wellness
committee, a learning committee, a
youth structure and a members choir.
Members are encouraged to participate
in the activities of these structures and
draw full benefit from their existence. For
instance, the health and wellness committee
aims to facilitate the physical,
emotional social, mental and spiritual
wellness of members.
Union representatives said they support
the initiatives and will encourage
their members to participate.

R E H A B I L I TAT I O N
Orphanage helped
By Kennedy Botha
Tshwaraganang orphanage in Hammanskraal
has been fortunate to be “adopted” by officials
at Pretoria’s remand detention facility recently.
Like most other places of safety there is not always enough
resources for all the beneficiaries.
The orphanage takes care of about 150 children, some
of whom are not orphans in the strictest sense of the word but
simply destitute and neglected children. About 50 children reside
permanently at the orphanage.
At a ceremony on 21 August this year, Area Commissioner
Ms Grace Molatedi and Koos Gerber, Head of the remand detention
centre made their intentions clear about focusing their
anti-poverty efforts and community service on the orphans at
Twsharaganang.
Money, food, clothing, school uniforms and toiletries were donated
by the members of centre. Some officials also donate
money on a monthly basis to the orphanage.
I
had been away from my family and loved
ones for a long time and I had grown and
changed so much in those years. I was
convicted and sentenced to prison for a serious
crime after I became involved with the
wrong person.
There were many decisions I had to make
before my life changed for the better. I had
to learn to take responsibility for my own actions
and the consequences which followed.
I also had to accept the responsibility of making
new choices that will positively change
my life. I had to choose to bring out the best
JULY/AUGUST 2009
Area Commissioner Grace Molatedi hands over goodies to the
children
Sense of belonging:
parolee Ansune
Putter (back row, 3rd
from right) has been
welcomed back
into the fold of her
family.
The power of forgiveness
A FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT By parolee Ansune Putter
After having spent six and a half years in prison, I did not quite
know what to expect the day of my release on parole.
in myself and allow this to positively affect
people around me.
I was a juvenile when I went to prison. My
future looked bleak with a long sentence. But
I soon realised that I had to do something to
change my own destiny. I completed grade
12 within the first year of my incarceration
and went on to complete a degree in psychology.
On the day I walked out of prison, I was
halfway through completing an honours degree
in psychology. These achievements had
however not come easily. It took hard work
and much dedication.
On 2 September the orphanage was visited again and donations
were once again handed over. Members are looking forward
to visit the orphanage during December to give Christmas
presents to the children.
There is a familiar song about a convict being
released from prison, asking his beloved
to tie a yellow ribbon around an old oak tree,
which will be a sign for him being welcomed
back home. As he drove into town, he saw
not one, but hundred yellow ribbons around
the tree.
Those exceptional people
who are willing to forgive our
wrongdoings and who are
prepared to offer us a second
chance in life are hugely
important.
As we drove into my home town on the day
of my release, there were hundreds of yellow
ribbons around the trees stretching from
the town hall all the way to my home. These
were symbols of being welcomed back to
where I truly belonged. It was a sign of acceptance
and love from my loved ones and
of their joy that I was reunited with them. I
knew for certain then that I was welcomed in
their hearts and in their lives.
What makes rehabilitation work?
We can ponder the issue of effective rehabilitation
within Correctional Services. Over
and above one’s participation in the rehabilitation
system, the ultimate choice lies within
the individual. This does not diminish the
impact that wonderful people who cross our
path have on us. Those exceptional people
who are willing to forgive our wrongdoings
and who are prepared to offer us a second
chance in life are hugely important. They are
the angels who give us wings to fly.
15

Norman Lyons displaying some of his
paintings
Some offenders leave correctional
centres as role models that will inspire
others to live better lives whilst
others succumb to a live of crime and
end up behind bars for life. In acknowledgement
of those offenders who are
rehabilitated and who open themselves
to be rehabilitated, Kroonstad’s Social
Reintegration office hosted an event on
30 July.
A further aim was to popularise the
concept of correctional supervision as
an alternative sentencing option by the
courts.
The event was attended by representatives
from various institutions including
churches, magistrate courts, Flavius
Mareka College, government depart-
R E H A B I L I TAT I O N
Talent comes in all
packages By Thomo waga Nkgadima
A convicted
robber became a visual artist
to make his maximum sentence more
bearable. Norman Lyons (28), a convict
at Baviaanspoort Maximum correctional
centre near Pretoria, is currently serving a
15-year sentence for armed robbery with aggravating
circumstances.
“I inherited a love for art from my mother
who was a self taught artist. Unfortunately
she died before I realised my dream of becoming
a professional artist one day,” Lyons
said. “Art is in my blood and I feel inspired
when officials and fellow inmates compliment
me on my work. It is a tribute to a poor
woman who brought me into this world,” he
explained.
Five years on parole and going
strong By Nandipha Ramadikela
Charmaine Phillips-Rabie talking about her
rehabilitation process
ments and the South African Police
Service.
Ms Marinda Viljoen, a social worker in
the Social Reintegration office said, “We
are marketing correctional supervision
as an alternative sentence option and we
want to identify and recruit service providers
who can become involved in the
skills development programmes for such
offenders.”
Head of Social Reintegration, Mr Israel
Makwa said previously it was difficult
for parolees to serve their non-custodial
sentences successfully due to a lack of
supervision. “Some offenders returned
to our centres and requested to be readmitted
whilst others committed further
crimes,” said Mr Makwa.
The highlight of the day was when Charmaine
Phillips-Rabie, who is on parole
for life, spoke of her past and present life.
She said, “At the age of seven, I experienced
my family falling apart. As a result
I grew up in foster care and it was not
easy. I rejected society because I felt that
society had rejected me and I ended up
in prison.”
Charmaine was arrested for four counts
of murder and three counts of theft. She
came to believe that she would never
leave prison. Yet today she is the proud
owner of a successful hair salon. She
learned to be a hairdresser while at
Kroonstad Centre of Excellence.
Charmaine also paints and sells art
while being involved in training other
offenders and assisting with emotional
cases. She celebrated five years as a
parolee on 20 August.
SA Corrections Today
Lyons shares his artistic soul with fellow
offenders. Some consider him a teacher as he
sharpens their art skills in pencil drawing and
painting.
“I decided to start a new life behind bars
when I realised that I deserve to be given a
second chance when I finish serving my sentence,”
Lyons said.
“I view skills transfer to fellow offenders
as a way to say sorry for the offence I committed.
I am learning through painful experience.
I keep myself away from any temptation
to engage in gangsterism.”
Lyons urged those willing to assist with art
material and training to contact Baviaanspoort
Maximum Correctional centre Head
and Deputy Director, Sydney Maseko on
(012) 841 8665.
Ex offender sets pace
By Lewies Davids and Dimpho Mongae
Simon Peloeareng Magapong (43) once
broke the law and landed behind bars.
While serving time at Rooigrond Correctional
Centre, Magapong finished grade 12
and later enrolled for several courses, including
theology and farming. In October 2004
he was paroled and re-united with his family
in Lotlhakane Village. To put food on the table,
he started selling hake fish for R5 to R7
a piece until he felt he had saved enough to
pursue his dream of starting a piggery. Little
did he realise that his total savings of R3 000
were not enough for the erection of buildings,
fencing and buying the required pigs to
kick-start the project.
Magapong then decided to form a cooperative
with five other guys. “We received a donation
of R462 000 from Department of Social
Development which really helped ease
our burden,” said Magapong. He thanked the
Department of Correctional Services “for
the rehabilitation and the piggery lessons
they offered. It is up to an individual to grab
opportunities while serving a prison term. I
plan to hire other ex-offenders so that they
can keep themselves busy and keep away
from wrong-doing,” he said.
Magapong, a self-proclaimed ‘rehabilitation
product’ said correctional officials monitored
the progress of his cooperative on a
regular basis and offered free advise on how
to properly care for the pigs.
The pigs receive medical check-ups from
a veterinarian attached to North West University.
Mr Hennie Ebersohn, an agriculture
manager in Correctional Services has assisted
the coop to obtain wooden shavings,
which he said were essential bedding in the
piggery.

R E H A B I L I TAT I O N
Ridwaan Adams, project manager (left) and Jonathan Lennert, operations manager are
keeping Basic Radio alive and kicking on 91.3fm
Airwaves are cooking in Brandvlei
By Estelle Coetzee and Manual Rooms
It is 91.3 broadcasting live from Brandvlei Youth Centre. If you
haven’t known, welcome to Basic Radio, a radio station that
broadcasts to the entire Brandvlei Management Area.
Behind the microphone are offenders and
correctional officials alike doing what
they have learned to love and master.
Officials and offenders who want to listen
to great music, stay informed of daily news
updates and contemporary issues presented
with a corrections flavour, can tune into their
Keeping training exciting seems to come
easy for Jonathan
own homegrown radio productions.
The two officials behind the steering wheel,
Ridwaan Adams and Jonathan Lennert know
their craft and they know their audiences. It
is evident that their hearts belong to Basic
Radio. Ridwaan has completed several radio
broadcasting courses over the years, starting
off with a Cape Technikon qualification in
this field. Jonathan is currently attending a
4-months course in educational programme
production in the Netherlands, a course that
Ridwaan also completed a while back.
Whilst their focus is on skills development
for juvenile offenders, some of the long term
offenders that they have trained have since
migrated to the adult centre. They are allowed
to continue presenting programmes
with a different focus, for adult listeners and
so the station’s reach is growing.
Success
Basic Radio’s recipe for content is simple
yet effective: alternate education with entertainment.
It therefore presents current affairs,
magazine, news and music programmes.
Like any journalist, the presenters and station
managers tap into current affairs for programme
ideas. For instance, a popular South
African musician is accused of domestic violence.
Basic Radio used this incident during
Women’s Month to get their listeners talking
about women’s rights.
The station is kitted out well. It has a production/editing
studio, an on-air studio, a
news generation department and a music
library where a dedicated music compiler
(offender) sits and compiles music for all the
different programmes.
Partnerships
This year is the station’s 13th year running
and it is growing from strength to strength.
The station managers are always on the lookout
for partnerships. So it has come that several
released offenders who have been trained
by them have found employment at other stations,
such as Fresh FM (Pick ‘n Pay’s store
station), Clicks Live and other local community
radio stations.
Funding for the station’s equipment came
from the Royal Netherlands Embassy, the
Weyerhauser Family Trust and the Open Society
Foundation.
Training
About 100 offenders have been trained in
radio broadcasting over the years and the average
annual number is twelve. The course
duration is eight months of theory and practice,
after which the offenders start working
in the station. Although Ridwaan is an accredited
assessor, the course as such has not
yet been accredited. Application for accreditation
has been submitted to SETA.
The future
When asked about future plans, Ridwaan
was enthusiastic about the possibility that
Basic Radio, as a successful case study, can
be replicated throughout the country with,
perhaps, Brandvlei as the nerve centre of
a network of satellite radio stations across
DCS facilities.
Offenders celebrating their achievements
Graduation at
Carolina
By Moses Nkabinde
Carolina Correctional Unit under the
leadership of Ms Singile Khumalo held
a graduation ceremony in which fourteen
inmates and two parolees received
certificates for successfully completing a
six months biblical course offered by the
Seventh Day Adventist Church. About
250 churchgoers attended.
Three parolees are currently employed
by Carolina municipality as an electrician,
a maintenance official and a sewerage
controller.
JULY/AUGUST 2009 17

The dynamos at WPFG
By Braam Scheepers
The national DCS athletics team showed once again why they are
considered world class.
The 10 000 metre events were dominated
by DCS officials and in total tallied five
gold, one silver and four bronze medals,
notwithstanding the fact that several top
athletes withdrew shortly before departure to
Vancouver.
Kosie Botha from Brandvlei Correctional
Centre scooped six gold medals in the 10km
cross country race, the 5000 metre, 10 000
metre and 21km road race. The 53-year old
said he was on cloud nine and proud of himself.
The other two medals were won in team
events.
Enock Skosana of Pretoria Management
Area won five gold medals in the 10km cross
DCS cyclist Anchen Naudé (right) with yet
another gold medal in the 40 km road race
event is joined on the podium by second
placed cyclist Allison Chisholm
country, the 5000 metre, 10 000 metre and
21km road race. He said beating an Olympic
silver medalist in the 10km race was an extra
feather in his cap.
Kosie and Enock competed in different age
groups.
W O R L D P O L I C E A N D F I R E G A M E S
Ronel Thomas of Gauteng regional office
dominated the women’s athletics events by
crossing the finish line first in the 10km cross
country, 21km road race, 1500 metre race
and the 5000 metre race. The little pocket
rocket bagged no less than five gold and two
silver medals at the Games. Miriam Mooki
and Lorraine Gradwell scooped the silver
and bronze medals respectively in this category.
10km cross country
The cross country events took place at the
picturesque Jericho Beach Park in Vancouver
and the course included a tough stretch
of 400 metres on the beach.
The department’s athletes were challenged
strongly by the Russian athletes but they performed
well by winning most of the medals
in this category.
In the Open Men category, Nare Makgakga
ran a very good second place and earned
himself the silver medal. Aaron Gabonewe
also ran a close second in the Men Senior
(A) category. Enoch Skosana took gold again
when he not only won the Senior Men (B)
category, but also crossed the line in less
than 50 seconds behind the overall winner.
The Master Men (A) category caused a lot
of excitement as the finishing positions were
contested by three DCS athletes. Isaac Opperman
managed to beat Keith Court (silver)
and Paul Nkosi (bronze) to the line.
Lorraine Gradwell entered the 3000 metre
steeplechase and won a gold medal. This was
an exceptional achievement as it is not an
SA Corrections Today
Golden Glory. Nare Makgakga, Kosie Botha
and Enoch Skosana showcase their medals
event she often participates in and also because
she was going to participate in the 10
000 metre race the next day followed by a
10km cross country race the day after that.
Twenty three kilometres in three consecutive
days is a huge task for any athlete.
In the 800 metre open Charles Jantjies ran
second in a very competitive race.
In the 100 metre (50-54 years) Joseph Warries
was well ahead of the others to win a
gold medal.
Cycling
Anchen Naudé at the national office also
proved that dynamite came in small packets
when she had fellow cyclists chasing her
shadow on her way to winning the 40km road
race. In total Anchen collected two gold, two
silver medals and one bronze medal.
Darts
In the darts competition, Vicky Carnow of
Malmesbury Management Area won three
gold medals and one silver medal. She was
undisputedly the best female dart player at
the event.
Putting to perfection. Jacques van Wyk
aiming to Birdie whilst Gerhard Scheepers
(overall winner) looks on
Golf
Gerhard Scheepers of Pretoria Management
Area defended his title as champion of
2007 successfully when he outplayed more
than 300 golfers to be crowned overall winner
and champion for 2009. This was an excellent
achievement to have won in two consecutive
events.
Lawn bowls
The Lawn Bowling team, as was the case
with the rugby team, was declared champions
of the World Police & Fire Games 2009.
The lawn bowlers were a crowd favourite and
other countries lined up to have photos taken
with this DCS team. The team took most of
the medals on offer in this code.

Lawn bowling the greens on fire. The DCS
team won gold as the best team at the
WPFG. Yolanda Watkins, Marius Roux,
Yolande Harmse, Joshua Radebe, Derêne
Fourie, Neels Kotze, Ronelle Kriel and
Gidion Vermeulen (from left to right)
Karate / Taekwondo
At the onset it was evident that the competition
was going to be the best seen in many
years. To begin with Jan Badenhorst had to
face one of the strongest competitors in the
event, which incidentally was the same competitor
he beat in the final of the 2007 Games.
Jan ended up receiving bronze medals in the
Kata team event and also in the Unison Kata.
Humphrey Skosana, the recently crowned
Kumite Men Masters World Champion did
The victorious DCS 7’s Rugby team joined in
song by the runners-up, SAPS. DCS won the
final match 46-12
not have it all his own way. He managed to
win the silver medal in the Kumite and the
bronze medals in the Kata team event, Kumite
team event as well as the individual
Kata event.
Two female officials, both newcomers to the
WPFG gave a good account of themselves.
Ursula Skosana collected the gold medal in
the Kumite team event and the bronze medal
in the Kumite individual event whilst Mantwa
Motse made her home crowd proud by
winning the gold medal in another Kumite
team event and also won bronze medals in
her Kata team event and the Kumite individual
event.
Rugby 7s
The DCS team was surprised to learn that
their first match would be against the 2007
champions, SAPS against whom they lost in
W O R L D P O L I C E A N D F I R E G A M E S
the final two years ago. DCS took no chances
in the first group match and punched out
a comfortable 40–0 win over the somewhat
shell-shocked SAPS team.
Elcardo Mintoor crossed the white wash
three times and converted four of the six tries
for a personal tally of 23 points. The second
group match against South Wales Fire
Brigade witnessed the might of the talented
DCS winning 48–0.
This time Elton Mannaka scored three tries
as the opponents had no answer to the pace
and skills of the DCS team. The Italian Fire
Services came out firing and was the first team
to score points against the South Africans.
Although the Italians put up a spirited fight it
was to no avail as they lost 31–7. Elton Mannaka
and Elcardo Mintoor scored two tries
each in this physical encounter. In the fourth
and final group match the DCS faced the
unknown team of the North Vancouver Fire
Brigade. The South Africans were on song
again, scoring seven unanswered tries in a
victory of 41–0. In the four group matches
DCS scored 160 points (26 tries) and only
conceded seven points (1 try). This qualified
the team for
the semi-final
match against
the Fire Services
of Italy.
The DCS
team had little
trouble in
beating their
opponents on
the way to the
final. Elcardo
Mintoor (three
tries) once
again rounded
off most of the opportunities followed by Elton
Manakka with two tries of his own. The
South Africans won comfortably with a score
of 38–0.
The final saw DCS versus SAPS. A repetition
of the 2007 WPFG final was on the
cards. This time DCS was well prepared and
ready for the SAPS onslaught. The result of
the first match as well as the unbeaten status
merely provided motivation as it meant nothing
if the final was lost against the SAPS.
SAPS scored two tries, but DCS was not
going to be denied this year. It looked as if
they had hardly worked up a sweat as they
ran off the field with a final score of 46–12.
They scored eight tries in the final game to
claim back their title as WPFG champions.
Mr Stu Ballantyne, the CEO of the WPFG
commented that, “the South African DCS
team played like Springboks. The final between
SAPS and DCS was probably the
most watched and anticipated event of the
Games.”
JULY/AUGUST 2009
Don’t be
caught offside
Heart disease is one of the leading
causes of death worldwide, and people
who have abnormally high pressure
in their arteries are far more likely
than others to die prematurely of heart
disease.
Although a certain amount of pressure is
needed to carry the blood through your
body, if that pressure is too great, you
have high blood pressure, or hypertension.
Symptoms
Hypertension is one of the main risk factors
for heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure.
It can occasionally cause headaches, vision
problems, dizziness, or shortness of breath,
but most people with hypertension have no
symptoms. This is why it is referred to as
the “silent killer.” Hypertension is usually
discovered during a medical checkup when
a doctor or nurse takes a blood pressure reading.
When blood pressure is measured, two
measurements are taken and two numbers
are indicated, for example, “one-twenty
over eighty,” written as 120/80. This is because
each heartbeat sends a pressure wave
through the bloodstream. The higher figure
(systolic blood pressure) is at the peak of the
wave, when your heart contracts. The lower
figure (diastolic blood pressure) is the lower
“dip” or trough of the wave, when your heart
relaxes.
In general, someone has high blood pressure
if several measurements show readings
of 140/90 or higher.
Causes
Primary (or essential) hypertension is when
the cause is unknown. The majority of hypertension
cases are primary. When there is an
underlying problem such as kidney disease
or hormonal derangements that can cause
hypertension, it is called secondary hypertension.
When it is possible to correct the underlying
cause, high blood pressure usually improves
or may even return to normal. Other
factors that can cause hypertension are age
(blood pressure usually increases with age),
diet, excessive alcohol consumption, lack of
exercise, obesity and stress.
The last three: fat, stress and lack of exercise
characterize many people’s lifestyle, especially
those in urban areas. That is why it
is so important to eat healthily, exercise the
flabby tummy and buttocks on the treadmill,
and go out to smell the flowers!
9

20
W O R L D P O L I C E A N D F I R E G A M E S
Continued from front page
Scooping hundreds of medals at international games
By Tshifhiwa Magadani and Braam Scheepers
This followed ten days of vigorous competition
in the World Police and Fire Games
held in that country.
The tournament witnessed South African
correctional officials at the top of their game,
Appreciation is a wonderful thing
By Director Employee Sport and Recreation, Pravesh Bhoodram
Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in
others belong to us as well.
Exceptional competition, amazing volunteers,
several social events, and
new and renewed friendships with
memories to last a lifetime exemplified
the 13th World Police and Fire Games
in Vancouver from 31 July to 9 August
2009. The Game’s tribute to law enforcement
officers throughout the world was a
spectacular international sporting event
that offered police officers, fire fighters,
custom officials and correctional officials
the opportunity to showcase their athletic
excellence. DCS sport stars took up the
challenge against the rest of the world
with their Vuvuzelas, singing, dancing
and eye catching attire. Wherever the
DCS team went they captured and held
the attention of hundreds of civilians at
the airport, at the accreditation venue
and at all the venues where South Africans
competed.
Management participated in the programme
for prospective bidders and
attended presentations by the winning
countries. They were also present when
the games for 2015 were awarded to
Fairfax, Virginia. The WPFG has developed
an observer’s programme for successful
bidders and DCS management
scooping up 86 gold, 59 silver, and 71 bronze
medals. They broke their own record of 2007
in which they won 163 medals.
Shortly after they landed at OR Tambo Airport,
the tired yet jubilant correctional offi-
The President of the
WPFG, Mr Michael
Graham, took some
time out to meet with
the DCS delegation
Mr Hento Davids,
Mr Joseph Nkhabu
and Mr Pravesh
Bhoodram.
was privileged to be invited to be part
of this team as this invitation is only reserved
for successful bidders.
Stu Ballantyne the CEO of the WPFG
commented at the rugby finals where
South Africa took the Gold medal, “The
South African’s are playing like Springboks.
The rugby final between the South
African Police and Correctional Services
was the most watched and anticipated
event of the games.”
The head of the DCS delegation, Mr.
Hento Davids had only words of praise
for those managers who went beyond
the call of duty to make this event the
best ever. They overcame several challenges
through cooperation and commitment.
All athletes conducted themselves
with integrity and were true ambassadors
for South Africa.
The DCS leadership, especially the
Minister, National Commissioner and
CDC Corporate Services must be commended
for allowing this world class
team to participate in the WPFG amidst
stringent cost cutting measures as the
team has exceeded all expectations and
has returned with an unprecedented 216
medals.
SA Corrections Today
cials were hanging and smiling from ear to
ear with their colleagues and their loved ones
who gave them a hero’s welcome.
When asked what the mood was like during
the event, the team manager, Mr Hento Davids
(Deputy Commissioner Equity and Recreation)
replied, “The team was so focused
and dedicated, the oomph and raring to go
attitude of the officials were tangible.”
The European teams jokingly accused Correctional
Services of having brought their national
team of “Springboks” to Canada. This
was after they beat their South African counterpart,
the South Africa Police Services to
be crowned the champions of the 2009 World
Police and Fire Games.
“You have done us proud. Your excellent
performance at the games is an indicator that
we have among us the best in the world”,
said Minister Mapisa-Nqakula at a lunch for
the athletes.
“You have not done it only for us as Correctional
Services, but you have placed South
Africa on the world map as one of the top
sporting nations of the world,” she continued.
Correctional Services participated for the
6th time in this stellar international event. The
theme of the games was, honour and respect
for law enforcement officers. The games attracted
over 10 000 participants from over 30
countries and more than 35 000 sports tourists.
South Africa is gearing itself to bid for
the 2017 World Police and Fire Games.
Medals table
Sport code Gold Silver Bronze Totals
Athletics 43 37 18 98
Badminton - - 4 4
Biathlon - - - -
Cycling 2 3 2 7
Darts 6 6 9 21
Fresh
Water
Angling
2 3 - 5
Golf 3 3 3 9
Karate /
Taekwando
Lawn
Bowls
2 3 7 12
12 4 4 20
Rugby 13 - - 13
Soccer - - 20 20
Squash 1 - 1 2
Tennis 2 - 3 5
Pistol
Shooting
- - - -
Volleyball - - - -
Totals 86 59 71 216