Minister of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald has called for debate on reintroducing corporal punishment.
The minister was presenting his department’s budget vote on Tuesday.
TimesLIVE quotes Groenewald as saying: “If you look at our criminal justice system, we must start a debate to say shouldn’t we bring back corporal punishment?
“A young person who steals 10 loaves of bread sits in prison and waits about three years for sentencing. Think about whether we should bring back corporal punishment.”
Pointing to pathologies in society – such as children being imprisoned for stealing food – he asked if this should not be the catalyst for such a conversation.
In his address, Groenewald said that he could not “sugarcoat” the problems his department was facing. These included a restricted finance environment, which was prompting the department to explore alternative sources of revenue, so that it could avoid complete dependence on the fiscus.
“We face real and pressing financial and operational constraints,” he remarked, “The capital budget shortfall of R222 million undermines our ability to conduct infrastructure upgrades and critical maintenance. The escalating cost of food, fuelled by inflation and the growing number of inmates, including a sharp increase in foreign nationals, adds another layer of financial strain.”
Turning to parole, he added, “Crime is out of control”.
He continued: “We carry a sacred duty: to ensure that incarceration serves both justice and rehabilitation. We cannot, and must not, allow corruption, leniency, or undeserved parole to compromise this mandate. When parole becomes a loophole for further terror and criminality, it is not merely a policy failure — it is a failure of justice. And it is the victims and the people of South Africa who pay the price.”
He noted that indiscipline among staff constituted a serious problem. Raids and unannounced visits were increasing, and action was being taken against corrupt and negligent officials, with 515 having received final written warnings in the past year, 181 having been suspended without pay and 146 dismissed.
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