Beware of impersonation scam targeting public over correctional services learnerships
In a statement released by the DCS, it was made clear that Mr Singabakho Nxumalo does not engage in any recruitment processes nor does he solicit, facilitate, or receive any payments relating to learnerships or employment. The department is adamant that any calls from someone merely identifying as 'S Nxumalo' should raise immediate suspicion and should not be entertained by the recipient.
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The South African
6 hours ago
- The South African
Overcrowding at South Africa's prisons in the spotlight
The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services has expressed concern over the low success rate of the current legislation aimed at reducing overcrowding in the country's correctional facilities. This comes after the committee received a briefing from the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) regarding the implementation of Section 49G of the Correctional Services Act (CSA) and Section 62F of the Criminal Procedures Act (CPA) applications. Both sections aimed to alleviate pressure on the country's overburdened correctional facilities. Section 49G of the Act determines that a remand detainee may not be detained for a period exceeding two years without such matter having been brought to the attention of the court concerned. The referral of the remand detainee by the head of the remand detention centre must be done three months prior to the completion of two years in detention. This will provide sufficient time for the courts to apply their minds. If a remand detainee remains in detention after the first consideration, further submissions must be made annually. Section 62(f) makes provision for the placement of awaiting trial detainees under the supervision of a correctional official as a condition of bail. During a briefing, the committee heard that the success rate under Section 49G of the CSA for the 2022/23 financial year is 1.25% of 12 283 court referrals nationally, with the Eastern Cape and Western Cape both indicating a 0% success rate. In terms of 2023/24, the Eastern Cape once again showed a 0% success rate. In the 2024/25 financial year the province had 142 court referrals and only one was successful and in the current financial year it has had two successful court referrals. 'The committee also heard that approximately 40% of the total sentenced offender population are serving sentences above 15 years, inclusive of those serving life sentences. Lifers will typically remain incarcerated for longer periods of time and are sentenced/convicted of serious crimes. This means that bed spaces will not become readily available, which places more pressure on already overcrowded correctional facilities,' Committee Chairperson, Kgomotso Anthea Ramolobeng said. 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.
The Citizen
6 hours ago
- The Citizen
Committee slams poor enforcement of prison overcrowding laws
The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services has expressed concern over the low success rate of legislation aimed at reducing overcrowding in the country's correctional facilities. This follows a briefing from the Department of Correctional Services on the implementation of Section 49G of the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998 and Section 62F of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977. Both sections aim to ease pressure on the country's overburdened correctional system. Section 49G states that a remand detainee may not be held for more than two years without the matter being brought before the relevant court. The head of the remand detention centre must refer such a case to court at least three months before the two-year period lapses to give the court time to consider it. If the detainee remains in custody, further submissions must be made each year. Section 62F allows for the placement of awaiting-trial detainees under the supervision of a correctional official as a bail condition. During a briefing on Friday, the committee heard that the success rate under Section 49G for the 2022/23 financial year was just 1.25% of 12 283 court referrals nationally. The Eastern Cape and Western Cape recorded a 0% success rate. In 2023/24, the Eastern Cape again reported 0%. In 2024/25, only one of 142 court referrals was successful, while two were successful in the current financial year. 'The committee also heard that approximately 40% of the total sentenced offender population are serving sentences above 15 years, including life sentences. Lifers will typically remain incarcerated for longer periods and are sentenced or convicted of serious crimes. This means that bed spaces will not become readily available, which places more pressure on already overcrowded correctional facilities,' said committee chairperson Kgomotso Anthea Ramolobeng. – Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Prison overcrowding crisis raises alarm with 57,000 remand detainees
The Department of Correctional Services says its attempts to refer cases to court for some categories of prisoners to be released to serve community corrections were not yielding much success as fewer matters were approved. Image: File The Department of Correctional Services has revealed that it has a staggering population of 57, 000 remand detainees while prisons are bursting at the seams with an overcrowding of 163, 000 prisoners. The department said its attempts to refer cases to court for some categories of prisoners to be released to serve community corrections, were not yielding much success as fewer matters were approved. Deputy minister Lindiwe Ntshalintshali said the law provided that remand detainees may be considered for correctional supervision after serving almost two years uninterrupted detention. 'Where we apply and seek approval, we don't have control over that hence we say the engagement between ministers (Correctional and Justice) is very important so that they can assist in that regard,' she said, adding that some remand detainees can't be released because of the nature of crimes committed. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ On Friday, MPs heard that the Correctional Services Act makes a provision that the period of incarceration of a remand detainee must not exceed two years from the initial date of admission into the remand detention facility without such matter having been brought to the attention of the court. The Criminal Procedure Act allows any court when a charge is pending when bail is granted to add further conditions of bail under correctional supervision on application by the prosecutor. A presentation to the portfolio committee on Friday showed that there were 57,901 remand detainees as at June 30. Chief deputy commissioner for remand detainees Cynthia Ramulifho said the prison population stood at 163,179. She said the court referrals, made on the basis of the Criminal Procedure and Correctional Services Acts, were used to reduce overcrowding in prisons. Ramulifho said there were 71 unsentenced children while 41 were incarcerated. 'At the time we appeared before the committee, we were sitting around 56 and now it has gone up,' she said in reference to unsentenced minors. Ramulifho also said about 40% of the total sentenced offender population were serving sentences above 15 years, inclusive of those serving life sentences. 'Lifers will typically remain incarcerated for longer periods of time and are sentenced or convicted of serious crimes. This means that bed spaces will not become readily available, which places more pressure on already overcrowded correctional facilities.' She told MPs that the department identified those remand detainees who qualify for referral to be considered for correctional supervision. Ramulifho said: 'We don't get positive results.' Out of the 24,566 referrals made in 2022/23, only 308 were successful. There were only 560 referrals that were approved out of 19,764 the following year. In 2024/25, only 676 were approved from 18,206. The department revealed that only 2405 referral for conversion of bail to correctional supervision were proved over the past three years. Ntshalintshali said the figures showed that there were challenges in terms of the results they desired. 'Whereas Correctional Services is pushing, there is a bit of a process with the Minister of Justice. We must find a way to deal with these matters," she said. MK Party's Musawenkosi Gasa said the data revealed that were systemic inefficiencies. 'The high percentage of inmates serving above 15 years exacerbates the overcrowding yet Department of Correctional Services fails to propose a concrete plan for long-term sentencing reforms,' Gasa said. ANC's Samuel Moela said the issue of overcrowding remained a serious challenge in correctional centres. Moela said the planned meeting between the two ministries should meet so that they could commit to a long term solution to the overcrowding problem in the prisons. Committee chairperson Kgomotso Ramolobeng urged the two departments to continue working together in order to strive for better ways to implement the pieces of legislation effectively. Ramolobeng called on the department to capacitate and improve the functioning of community corrections so that the courts can have confidence in the system and place more remand detainees under correctional supervision.
