Department of Correctional Services 2019/20 Annual Report; with Deputy Minister (cont)

Meeting report

Opening remarks
The Chairperson informed the Committee that the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services had responded to the Committee’s request for an investigation into the comments made by the DCS Audit Committee, Ms Jane Masite, as a viral video had shown her insulting comment about the Committee after the 1 December Committee meeting with Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA). The comment in a vernacular language loosely translated meant “these people are boring”. The Committee agreed that the video gives the impression that the comments referred to the Committee and was an irritation to its oversight.

In a letter addressed to MPs, the Minister confirmed that he had been briefed about the incident and requested that the executive be allowed time to investigate the matter.

Members agreed to the Minister’s request and decided that a report should be finalised and presented to Parliament by 31 January 2021.

Meeting Report
The meeting was a continuation of the last engagement with the DCS held on 2 December 2020. The Department had presented its 2019/20 Annual Report with a particular emphasis on the audit outcomes. Due to time constraints, the DCS was not able to respond to all of the MPs questions. Ultimately, the Committee agreed to resume discussions on 4 December 2020.

The Chairperson commended the DCS for an attempt to answer all the questions posed by the Committee with written responses. These had been received and forwarded to MPs and AGSA prior to the start of the meeting.

Ms Newhoudt-Druchen (ANC) said she had received the written responses only that morning and therefore had not had enough time to familiarise herself with the document. She requested DCS provide a brief verbal summary of its responses.

Mr Lourens van Vuuren, AGSA Business Executive, indicated that the AGSA had only just received the DCS responses and similarly did not have time to go through the document.

The Chairperson asked DCS to give a brief verbal summary of its responses, following which, MPs would have the opportunity to pose any further questions.

Responses by Department of Correctional Services
Mr Arthur Fraser, DCS National Commissioner, apologised that written responses were submitted late. However, the document was intended to assist MPs to follow the Department’s verbal responses.

The Chairperson clarified that the DCS responses were in fact received by the Committee Secretariat the previous day. There may have potentially been a network issue which would explain why MPs had received the document late. The issue was not the fault of the DCS.

Commissioner Fraser notified the Committee of a shooting incident which had occurred at DCS head office the previous day. The incident involved an official who had shot another official. The official who was shot is in a stable condition; an investigation is currently underway and will be finalised next week. The official responsible for the shooting has been arrested and remanded.

Performance information
From 2015/16 to 2016/17, DCS was audited on all its core programmes. Subsequent to this, DCS has only been audited on Programmes 2 and 5. The 2015/16 audit concluded with 411 findings, this has been reduced to 10 in 2019/20. Thus the audit findings over the past five years show a trend of improvement. It has shown significant improvement in the usefulness and reliability of its information, however the key area of concern remains the ability to accurately report on bed spaces. DCS has not had any material findings relating to other indicators. It does however acknowledge that it is reporting on a manual system but has ensured that it has adequate controls in place to ensure that it is reporting accurate information.

All levels of management from central to regional meet on a monthly and quarterly basis to confirm the completeness and accuracy of performance information. In addition, DCS has a quarterly monitoring and evaluation forum where all programme managers and regional coordinators meet to verify the information. This is then tabled at the National Management Quarterly Performance Review session where areas of underperformance are identified, and solutions developed. The Department also has continuous training over the management of its indicators to ensure that officials have a common understanding of the performance expectations.

Planning Framework
DCS complies with the planning guidelines developed by the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME). The Annual Performance Plan, Strategic Plan both take into consideration the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) and the National Development Plan (NDP). All draft plans are submitted to National Treasury and the DPME for review and acceptance, following which, they are submitted to AGSA to assess compliance and usefulness. Once tabled, the plans are returned to Treasury and DPME for oversight.

Supply chain management
Mr Abel Motaung, DCS Deputy Commissioner: Internal Control Compliance, said a breakdown of the irregular expenditure register detailing the particulars of the implicated officials, rand value and outcomes had been forwarded. A similar breakdown was given on 136 cases of consequence management. DCS agrees with the AGSA report that not all cases had been investigated at the time of the audit. DCS has made great strides to fast track outstanding investigations. To date, 36 cases of irregular expenditure and 112 cases of fruitless and wasteful expenditure have not been investigated. 11 cases of irregular expenditure were not investigated in 2018/19; only three relate to 2019/20. DCS has established an investigation steering committee to oversee supply chain management (SCM) cases.

Audit Action Plan
The audit action plan is a commitment to address the inadequacies of DCS internal controls. The audit action plan is reviewed and quarterly progress reports are submitted to the Audit Committee for review. DCS has trained officials on SCM practices based on the AGSA findings and continues to hold workshops to assist management to effectively address SCM findings.

Competitive bidding process
Mr Nick Ligege, DCS Chief Financial Officer, explained that DCS does follow a competitive bidding process for transactions above R500 000. These procurement needs are identified and included in the procurement plan at the beginning of the year. The main items are perishable and non-perishable goods such as bread, protein products, groceries and cleaning products. The R1 billion in irregular expenditure incurred in 2019/20 relates to such items because the expenses exceeded R500 000 and DCS used price quotations instead of competitive bidding because term contracts were not finalised. Had the contracts been secured, the expenditure would not have been classified as irregular. Poor contract monitoring and late bid advertisements are some of the reasons the contracts were not secured. DCS has introduced a system to do due diligence on contracts from the head office. At times non-compliance is identified which means the bidding process has to be redone causing delays. DSC had already advertised bids for the 2020/21 financial year to ensure contracts are finalised on time which will avoid the use of price quotations.

Non-compliance with SITA
DCS explained that it utilises SITA for both mandatory and non-mandatory systems. The SITA Act allows for deviations from using its procurement process given its approval. The reason AGSA concluded DCS was non-compliant with SITA regulations relates to the procurement of local area network cables. However, DCS had obtained SITA approval for this deviation and procured the products through an external service provider.

Community Corrections Capacity
Ms Anna Molepo, DCS Chief Deputy Commissioner: Community Corrections, replied that the current official to parolee ratio is 1:33 per day. The caseload at the end of September 2020 was 50 970 against 1 870 officials. In rural areas, officials are required to travel up to 250km to monitor one parolee which consumes time. In certain cases, visits require two officers depending on the safety risks of the area. DCS has placed learners to capacitate community corrections. It is working on its microstructure to reduce the official to parolee ratio to 1:20; however, this will not be realised due to budget constraints. DCS asked for the Committee’s support to approach National Treasury for increased funding to increase capacity at community corrections.

Relevance of training
Adv Moeketsi Mashibini, DCS Chief Deputy Commissioner: Human Resources, replied that the training provided by DCS is informed by a needs-based workplace skills plan (WSP) that takes into consideration recommendations made by AGSA and Parliament, therefore it is relevant to the challenges. DCS has trained 27 719 officials against a target of 23 050 according to this WSP. SCM and financial management were included in the list of required training under the WSP and ranked third and ninth as priority. 272 officials were trained on SCM practices and 406 were trained on financial management.

The Chairperson interjected and said the Committee was interested in the outcome and impact of the training rather than figures.

Mr Mashibini said DCS is currently developing an impact assessment tool and will provide details on outcomes once the strategy has been implemented.

Vacancy rates
DCS plans to replenish human resources due to retirement. Posts are advertised six months prior to vacancy, however, unplanned resignations and deaths still pose challenges. DCS appointed 3084 officials in 2019/20. However these appointments did not have an impact due to contract terminations during the same period. DCS currently has a vacancy rate of 9.4%.

Youth employment
DCS targets an increase in youth employment over the next five years. DCS has employed 2594 youth during 2019/20 and has a learnership programme to absorb participants once entry-level positions are available. DCS has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to appoint 2000 youth reserves.

Audit Committee oversight
DCS Audit Committee chairperson, Ms Jane Masite, explained that financial and non-financial reports are submitted to the Audit Committee on a quarterly basis and are guided by Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) regulations. The Audit Committee audits performance information and follows up on the recommendations made by AGSA. The Audit Committee looks at risk management on a quarterly basis and has appointed an independent chairperson to oversee this area. This will strengthen internal controls and will address some of the concerns raised by the Committee. The Audit Committee has a good relationship with AGSA and will implement the management recommendations made.

Although DCS did not obtain a clean audit, there was improvement in the number of audit qualifications it received. This indicates that interventions made by management are indeed working, however, not at a pace that resulted in an unqualified opinion.

AGSA response
Mr Lourens van Vuuren, AGSA Business Executive, emphasised that the system for performance information is not functioning as it should which requires management to introduce manual controls although this is not ideal. Although training is provided, it is crucial to have effective supervision over the SCM process because DCS operates in a decentralised environment. Adequate planning is required to ensure that SCM officials are not put under pressure and that equitable, fair and transparent processes are followed.

Follow-up questions
Ms Newhoudt-Druchen asked how many learners were in the programme between the 2017/18 to 2019/20. Of these participants, how many were absorbed into the Department? DCS can provide written responses if information is not readily available.

Ms N Maseko-Jele (ANC) said the mother of an inmate had complained that her son did not have toothpaste, which is an item that does not go through competitive bidding. What other products of a similar nature are not available in correctional facilities?

She echoed the Chairperson and said the Committee is not interested in the training numbers DCS has implemented, but rather the impact. DCS cannot continue to have the same problems despite reporting that it has invested significantly towards training. Either there is an challenge with the type of training provided or the individuals receiving the training. This matter requires further engagement.

There are increasing reports of deaths and infighting amongst officials within correctional facilities. What leads to officials having fights that end up being fatal? Are there problems between officials that the Committee needs to know about?

Ms J Mofokeng (ANC) asked if DCS intended making internal or external appointments for the investigation steering committee on SCM practices. When will this process be finalised? What are the timeframes for the finalisation of the outstanding irregular expenditure cases?

She asked if SCM officials have been vetted and when last this was done.

Infighting between officers and this recent killing is concerning as the officials are supposed to maintain order within the correctional facilities. This makes MPs question how deep the internal issues of DCS are. Does the Department have a system to ensure that officers undergo wellness and who is responsible for monitoring this? How many officers have undergone this process in the year? Do officials have briefings to ensure mental health as they are normal human beings?

She requested that the Committee visits facilities to review conditions. She is aware of the conditions and behaviour of officers at facilities in Tshwane and Gauteng and these are telling.

Mr J Selfe (DA) said DCS failed to respond to his questions on the release of Mr Andile Lungisa.
The appendix to DCS written responses states that several investigations into irregular expenditure have been finalised and referred to the Departmental Investigating Unit (DIU); however, no implicated official has been identified. Why has no official been identified if the case has been referred to the DIU?

The Chairperson apologised for not recognising that Deputy Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Inkosi Phathekile Holomisa was present in the meeting.

Adv G Breytenbach (DA) said her questions had been covered by Mr Selfe.

The Chairperson said he was not convinced by the response given by the Audit Committee and AGSA on the submission of regular reports. The Audit Committee still insists that it was presented with regular management reports monitoring the integrity and reliability of performance information. However, AGSA reported it could not obtain sufficient audit evidence for performance achievements. This disjuncture needs further explanation. The manual Accommodation Determination System (ADS) cannot run in perpetuity, the Committee needs clear timeframes on when it will be operational.

The Chairperson invited Deputy Minister Holomisa to make comments.

Deputy Minister Phathekile Holomisa replied that he had no comments to make as he had received the DCS written responses late and had not had the opportunity to familiarise himself with the document.

The Chairperson said he was concerned that written reports were only given to key decision-makers on the morning of the meeting. How are officials expected to reflect on the reports and provide leadership if reports are submitted at the last minute? This is a form of manipulation and undermines an institution. DCS needs to ensure that information is shared in a timely manner. This is an issue that has also been raised with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) which has shown some improvement.

Ms Mofokeng said she has an issue with the Deputy-Minister’s response. How can the Committee know if the Deputy Minister agrees with the responses given by DCS if he has not received the report on time?

The Chairperson said this issue must be relayed to Minister. In future, DCS should not be surprised if it is asked to leave Committee meetings due to late documents. The Committee has to subject information to its own research processes within Parliament and its political parties. Information cannot be verified when reports are submitted late. He urged the Deputy Minister to address this as it cannot be Parliament alone that continually reprimands the Department.

Deputy Minister Holomisa replied that he has also been consistently raising the issue of late submissions by DCS. All responses must be presented to the Ministry prior to being presented to Parliament so the Ministry can take ownership of whatever is communicated. He will communicate with the Minister about this.

The Chairperson asked Commissioner Fraser why there has not been an improvement if late document submission has been consistently raised by the Ministry and Parliament. One is forced to come to the conclusion that DCS simply does not want to comply, if so, does DCS want to be led or does it want to lead itself? The Chairperson has been advised that despite DCS having a full delegation of officials present in meetings, DCS often asks the Committee Secretariat to assist with capturing questions posed during engagements. This is not the job of the Committee Secretariat and gives the impression that DCS does not take Committee meetings seriously if it is unable to capture questions.

Ms Maseko-Jele said Deputy-Minister Holomisa’s response sums up why DCS has recurring challenges with irregular expenditure amongst others. It reinforces why officials extend contracts without having the delegated duty to do so. This means there is no accountability when it comes to doing things correctly. The Deputy Minister cannot say he was not been given the report as the expectation is that any information that is presented to Parliament must pass through the executive first. This is unacceptable.

Ms Mofokeng said it is worrying that DCS has reported that it is establishing an investigating steering committee, yet the Deputy Minister has not been apprised of the report. Can DCS decide to establish a whole committee without the knowledge and approval of the Ministry? How many other decisions have been made without the Ministry’s approval? Has the Ministry been informed of the shooting incident the Commissioner reported on? It is imperative for the Committee to look into this matter because the Deputy Minister was honest in his response. DCS has also left certain questions unanswered.

Deputy Minister Holomisa said the reason he did not want to provide a comment was not because he disagrees with the responses given by DCS; however, the Ministry does have certain issues it wants to follow up on.

He confirmed that the Ministry was informed about the recent shooting that occurred at head office and is aware of the investigations that are currently underway.

Commissioner Fraser said DCS always listens and tries to honour the inputs made by the Ministry and Committee. It is evident that DCS is not perfect, but it is improving on its reporting. The Annual Report was submitted timeously following AGSA finalising its audit. He apologised for the late submission of responses for this particular meeting, however, both the Minister and Deputy Minister were not present when the questions were initially posed. The written responses were simply intended to supplement the verbal responses for ease of reference for MPs. These had been submitted to the Committee a day prior to the meeting. It is unfortunate that this has been interpreted as DCS attempting to manipulate the Committee when it was trying to assist the MPs.

He was concerned that it has been implied that DCS is trying to perform without the executive; this would mean DCS is unconstitutional. If so, DCS should be challenged and charged. He apologised profusely and reiterated that the DCS intention was to make today’s engagement as smooth and effective as possible given the time constraints.

The Chairperson emphasised that the Deputy Minister’s response indicated that late submission of documents by DCS is not an isolated event concerning the responses received today. This is the context through which the Committee is looking at the whole matter.   

Commissioner Fraser acknowledged that the Ministry has in fact been raising the issue of late submissions and that the Department is actively working on ensuring that submissions are made in a timely matter. He is however surprised to hear that DCS officials have been approaching the Committee Secretariat to confirm questions posed by MPs. DCS records engagements and has a delegation responsible for capturing questions. He apologised and said he would ensure that this does not occur again.

Responses to follow-up questions:

Learnership programme
DCS will provide a written response detailing the number of participants in its learnership programme who have been absorbed into the Department.

Impact of training
DCS is currently reviewing its human resources (HR) management strategy and will assess how it can transform its college into an academic institution and ultimately improve the impact of its training interventions. DCS has identified specific shortcomings in its training. These will be addressed within the HR strategy to ensure consistent implementation.

Deaths within correctional facilities
Commissioner Fraser responded that the prisoner who killed a correctional officer was not in the care of DCS but of the South African Police Service (SAPS) at the time of the incident.

Investigation Steering Committee
The committee is an internal resource structure which has already been established and is responding to outstanding investigations. The outstanding investigations will be concluded by the end of the financial year.

Procurement of hygiene products
Mr Ligege replied that hygiene care products such as toothpaste fall within the non-perishable group and it currently does not have a contract in place. A tender has been issued and is being reviewed but in the meantime these products can be procured through price quotations. DCS will follow-up on what interim arrangements have been put in place for the purchase of these items.

Wellness of officers
DCS committed to providing a comprehensive report detailing if officers have undergone wellness programmes.

Vetting of SCM staff
DCS responded that vetting is a third-party function performed by a State Security Agency. The DCS security component has begun developing its own vetting and integrity policy which will be a longstanding arrangement in the Department which will do ongoing tests on officials given the corruption potential inherent in the SCM process. A comprehensive report will be made available.

DIU Investigations
DCS said some complex cases are referred to the DIU to make a further determination on the officials involved which are then reflected in the irregular expenditure register once confirmed.

Closing remarks
The Chairperson said the fundamental issue is that the Committee is not satisfied with the slow pace of improvement, if at all, given that DCS is a longstanding department with experienced senior management. It is not pleasing that DCS continues to report on recurring audit issues while other departments within the same cluster have obtained clean audits for the past 19 years. Why should the Committee accept such slow progress from an established department?

He is not convinced that DCS will succeed in creating a safer society for South Africans as targeted by the NDP and MTSF. The Committee has decided not to vote on the DCS Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report (BRRR). It will reflect thoroughly on whether DCS will be able to meet the public’s expectations given the slow pace of its improvement. Otherwise the Committee is simply ticking boxes which does not have a positive and tangible impact on the lives of South Africans. Is DCS fit for purpose and up to the task? In his view, the Committee has not even scratched the surface to result in the change required for DCS to meet the magnitude of expectations. MPs cannot applaud DCS for the improvements it claims to have made. It needs a radical departure from how things have been done in the past to achieve real change. He urged the Department to reflect deeply on whether it is fit for purpose to ensure the safety of South Africans.

Internal Committee matters
Adv Breytenbach asked that the Committee requests DSC provide the outstanding Grant Thornton Report before the end of the year as the two-week deadline had already passed.

The Chairperson thanked the Committee, support staff, researchers, Committee Secretariat, Ministerial staff, PMG and all other involved members for the hard work displayed over the year and the manner in which Parliament was able to proceed normally under unprecedented conditions. The Committee has been able to deliver its output due to the support it has received. The Committee will convene next year to plan its agenda and devise a different approach for its oversight on some institutions. MPs will specifically have to consider what should be reflected in the DCS BRRR.

Adv Breytenbach thanked the Chairperson for his work and the integrity with which he had conducted the Committee over the year. She thanked the support staff and wished MPs a prosperous festive season.

The meeting was adjourned.