Westville Correctional Centre bakery to save millions, equip inmates with job skills
In a move to make correctional facilities self-sustainable and reduce dependency on the state, Minister of Correctional Services, Dr Pieter Groenewald, opened a bakery in Durban this week.
The bakery was opened on Thursday in the Durban Management Area in Westville, KwaZulu-Natal.
It will enable inmates to bake bread for their consumption, cutting operational costs and generating significant savings for the department.
According to the ministry, the initiative also equipped offenders with baking and entrepreneurial skills to help them secure employment or start small businesses upon reintegration into society.
This, they said, furthered the department's mandate of rehabilitation and reduced re-offending.
Groenewald said the bakery was an example of the department's wider self-sufficiency programme, which also included agricultural land, steel shops, wood shops, and textile production. "When it comes to food, and specifically bread, we have inmates that contribute so that we can supply bread at a much cheaper price," he said.
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The South African
6 hours ago
- The South African
Correctional Services launches prison BAKERIES to save costs
Correctional Services Minister Dr. Pieter Groenewald has announced the continued expansion of the department's inmate-run bakery programme, aimed at reducing outsourcing costs and promoting self-sustainability within South African correctional facilities. Speaking at the launch of a new bakery at Westville Prison in Durban, Groenewald said the initiative has already saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of rands and will continue to grow as part of broader cost-cutting and rehabilitation efforts. 'This bakery alone will save R3 million annually for the taxpayer. Across all self-sufficiency projects last year, we saved nearly R500 million,' Groenewald said. To date, 13 bakeries have been rolled out across various prisons, with plans to expand further. At Westville, 50 inmates work in shifts to produce more than 3 800 loaves of bread daily, at a cost of R8 per loaf – significantly lower than the R23 per loaf paid to private service providers. Beyond cost savings, Groenewald highlighted the rehabilitative impact of the programme, with inmates gaining valuable skills to aid reintegration into society post-incarceration. Mlindeni Xaba, one of the inmates working in the Westville bakery, expressed gratitude for the opportunity. 'I'm thankful to the officials who helped us make better choices. Now I have the skills to open a business once I'm released and support my family,' Xaba said. The bakery programme forms part of a wider self-sufficiency strategy that includes vegetable farming, abattoirs, and tree nurseries within correctional facilities. Groenewald noted the significance of these projects amid rising operational costs and a budget reduction of R11.7 billion over the past five years. 'We'll continue enhancing self-sufficiency to lessen reliance on the state and ensure inmates leave with real skills,' he said. The Department of Correctional Services plans to scale these efforts further, with long-term goals of fully internalising food production and expanding vocational training opportunities for inmates. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
12 hours ago
- IOL News
Westville Correctional Centre bakery to save millions, equip inmates with job skills
Dr Pieter Groenewald unveils a new bakery at Westville Correctional Centre, a transformative initiative aimed at rehabilitating inmates while saving taxpayers R3 million annually. In a move to make correctional facilities self-sustainable and reduce dependency on the state, Minister of Correctional Services, Dr Pieter Groenewald, opened a bakery in Durban this week. The bakery was opened on Thursday in the Durban Management Area in Westville, KwaZulu-Natal. It will enable inmates to bake bread for their consumption, cutting operational costs and generating significant savings for the department. According to the ministry, the initiative also equipped offenders with baking and entrepreneurial skills to help them secure employment or start small businesses upon reintegration into society. This, they said, furthered the department's mandate of rehabilitation and reduced re-offending. Groenewald said the bakery was an example of the department's wider self-sufficiency programme, which also included agricultural land, steel shops, wood shops, and textile production. "When it comes to food, and specifically bread, we have inmates that contribute so that we can supply bread at a much cheaper price," he said.
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