Chairperson, we have a massive problem in South Africa with regard to crime, which takes various forms. After the Department of Police and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development have done their part, we rely on Correctional Services to take over and keep inmates, whom we often refer to as prisoners or criminals.
Prisons are correctional facilities and must therefore focus on rehabilitating inmates so that when they go back to society, they are ready to accept normal standards of living.
We must recognise and accept that criminals, as we like to call them, are the products of many dysfunctional aspects of our homes, our schools and our society. They are part of us. They are our children, our brothers, our sisters, our fathers, our mothers, our uncles and our aunts. Most of all, they are human. How we treat them in our prisons is an extension of how we value and treat each other as humans and as a society.
Of course, there is no arguing with the fact that for criminal conduct punitive measures must be applied. But I argue that being cast into prison is punitive enough, without having to live in conditions that are unbearable and inhumane for the prisoners. The overcrowding in prisons is a real issue and must be addressed if we hope to produce rehabilitated members of society.
There are lessons to be learnt from other parts of the world. Prisons in Namibia carry out a practical correctional philosophy and practice. Inmates live comfortably and eat good food, part of which comes from prison farms and industries. Their correctional services are said to be better funded, more humane and more goal-orientated.
We must align our perceptions of who we think prisoners are with this. Everyone desires a life and society free from crime, but that will not be attained through the harsh treatment of prisoners or the disregard of their human rights. The ultimate purpose of prison services is to keep inmates; reform, reorientate and rehabilitate them; and empower them to be law- abiding and productive members of society on release from prison. The UCDP supports the budget. Thank you. [Applause.]