Broken Bars: South Africa’s Correctional Facilities Strained by Budget Gaps and Failing Infrastructure

Portfolio Committee raises red flag over inmate wellbeing and maintenance failures

The alarm has been sounded again, South Africa’s prisons are in a state of silent collapse. Crumbling infrastructure, chronic maintenance delays, and budget shortfalls have pushed many of the country’s correctional centres to the brink.

This week, the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services didn’t mince its words: unless urgent action is taken, the basic rights of inmates and the working conditions of staff are at serious risk.

Numbers Don’t Lie: R24 Billion Shortfall, R1.9 Billion in Losses

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), which owns and maintains government buildings including prisons, painted a bleak picture. Since the implementation of itemised billing, a system sanctioned by the National Treasury, the DPWI has racked up a staggering R24.1 billion shortfall.

How did this happen?

Currently, government departments pay the DPWI just R23.24 per square metre for rented space — a figure laughably low when compared to private maintenance costs of R110 per square metre. This means the DPWI is bleeding money to keep state facilities operational, especially those under the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).

Over five years, this mismatch has resulted in a cumulative deficit of R1.9 billion, with annual losses hovering around R376 million.

Reality Check: Broken Kitchens and Empty Stomachs

Committee Chairperson Kgomotso Anthea Ramolobeng offered a chilling reminder of what these numbers mean on the ground.

“It doesn’t help if one has a beautiful kitchen in a centre with five or six stoves, but only one is working,” she said, recounting her visit to a correctional facility in KwaZulu-Natal.

She warned that the situation is becoming untenable, especially when it comes to something as basic as inmate meals.

“Once inmates are unable to eat or are given one meal a day, it becomes a serious challenge.”

A Web of Blame: Who Maintains What?

Despite R842 million allocated for maintenance in the 2024/25 fiscal year, committee members raised red flags about a lack of clarity between departments. Many responsibilities, once handled by DPWI, are now quietly shifting back to DCS, without clear accountability.

To untangle this, the committee has called for an emergency meeting of all heads from DPWI, DCS, and National Treasury, aiming to clarify roles, funding, and how to prevent more taxpayer money from going to waste.

A Call to Action: Inmates as Part of the Solution?

Interestingly, the committee isn’t just pointing fingers, it’s also offering potential fixes. One proposal includes using offender labour to assist with facility repairs, a move that could both cut costs and offer skills training for inmates.

Another immediate concern is the vacancy rate for artisans, skilled maintenance workers who are critical to keeping prisons functional.

“We need to fill those vacancies,” Ramolobeng stressed. “If we do not maintain our infrastructure, the impact will be both financial and humanitarian.”

The committee is now pushing for regular updates from a task team charged with addressing these failures. They’ve also called on National Treasury to brief them directly on the financial mechanics behind the user charge policy and how to avoid deeper pitfalls.

At a time when South Africa’s broader public infrastructure is under strain, from water systems to healthcare , the state of its correctional facilities may seem a back-burner issue.

But as lawmakers warned this week: a broken prison system is more than a budget line, it’s a societal failure waiting to explode.

And if the country’s most basic facilities can’t keep the lights on or the stoves working, the consequences won’t stay behind bars.

{Source: IOL}

Follow Joburg ETC on Facebook, Twitter , TikTok and Instagram

For more News in Johannesburg, visit joburgetc.com