The suspended Regional Commissioner Patrick Gillingham has resigned
12 Nov 2010
The suspended Regional Commissioner of Correctional Services who was facing internal charges of fraud and corruption, Mr Patrick Gillingham, has resigned as an employee of the department.
The announcement was made by Correctional Services National Commissioner Tom Moyane during a meeting with the extended management of the Limpopo Mpumalanga and North West (LMN) Region of the department at the Potchefstroom Correctional Centre.Commissioner Moyane was on the first leg of his visits to six regions of the Department as part of briefing management on the Delivery agreement signed by the Minister and the strategic plan of the department discussed during a four-day session of the Executive Management held in Leeuwkop Correctional Centre last week.
Commissioner Moyane promised to announce a major shakeup of the executive management of the Department of Correctional Services before the end of the month as part of repositioning the department to deliver on the service delivery undertakings made by Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula in a performance agreement signed with the Presidency a few weeks ago.
He said he had spent sufficient time at the helm of the department to be able to gear Correctional Services to meet the expectations of its leadership and the public. He implored managers of the LMN region to shape up and help him build a leadership and management core that has what it takes to turn around the department for the better.
Commissioner Moyane said: "The resignation of Mr Gillingham closed a very long chapter of costly investigations and disciplinary processes that, I believe impacted negatively on service delivery capacity of the region. I must express my deepest appreciation to Ms Lunga Tseane (Acting Regional commissioner of LMN) and her management team for holding the fort."
He said his regional road show to meet Regional Management Boards, Chairpersons of Parole Boards and heads of community corrections offices was necessitated by the new framework for performance management introduced by government that implores everyone to engage a higher gear to improve service delivery. The commissioner said the department's poor performance that resulted in ten consecutive qualified audit reports from the Auditor General cannot be tolerated any longer and therefore all officials must "either shape up or ship out".
Describing the 2010/11 financial year as a defining moment in the history of Correctional Services, Commissioner Moyane said: "The Minister has promised the President that no effort will be spared to fight fraud, corruption and all their manifestations. All efforts will be made to improve public perception of our work in fighting crime in this country with the expectations that levels of participation in parole hearings will improve by 400% by the end of the fourth term of government."He warned that the Department may receive a disclaimer, the worst evaluation any institution can receive, on its performance information when the Auditor General begins with performance auditing this financial year.
Commissioner Moyane called on the leadership and management of Correctional Services to make a difference by working as a collective to:
- Eliminate lethargy and enhance accountability of management
- Improve delivery to those placed in custody
- Improve discipline across the board, among officials and also offenders, and
- Enhance stakeholder relation and communication to get society's buy-in.
He had strong words for offenders that continue to destroy and damage state property to express their grievances, saying there can be no justification for burning mattresses, cells and taking officials hostage. He warned that all those involved in these illegal activities will face the full might of the law, and called up on all managers to be firm in disciplining offenders committing these crimes inside the correctional centres.
Commissioner Moyane completed his LMN visit very late yesterday - 11 November 2010 - and is expected to continue with the road show and cover all regions of the Department of Correctional Services before the end of 2010.
Statement issued by Manelisi Wolela, Department of Correctional Services, November 12 2010
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