Who is profiting from our prison sales?

25 June 2014

In a reply to a DA parliamentary question, the Minister of Public Works revealed that a feasibility study was being undertaken into the "possible disposal" of Pollsmoor and Leeuwkop Correctional Centres.

While the DA welcomes this move, given the proximity of these correctional services to their adjoining communities, questions must be asked as to who is going to profit from their sale, and what measures have been put in place to house detainees who are moved.  

Indeed, because both these centres are situated in up-market areas, the significant amount of money which will be made off its sale must be properly monitored. 

Section 217 of the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act both require that the disposal of state assets occurs in an open and transparent manner, and it would be absolutely essential to ensure that, were these two properties to be disposed of, the process is indeed open and transparent, and that the State gets value for money. 

There have been too many contracts awarded by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) in which it is extremely dubious whether the State received value for money, leading to questions about the companies to which the contracts were awarded.

This is all the more so since it will be necessary to finance the building of new facilities to house the inmates currently accommodated in Pollsmoor and Leeuwkop. Moreover, given the need to accommodate particularly remand detainees close to the courts, the location of alternative sites in Johannesburg and Cape Town becomes critical.

Should it ever come to the disposal of these assets, the DA will ensure that Parliament is informed and that the public is fully engaged, every step of the way. 

Statement issued by James Selfe MP, DA Shadow Minister of Correctional Services, June 25 2014

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