Three of the Department of Correctional Services’ (DCS’s) critical ICT systems are still on the back foot, the parliamentary portfolio committee heard this week.
This is despite the auditor-general (AG) of SA’s repeat findings on the department’s lagging ICT strategy.
The DCS officials highlighted several hurdles in fully implementing the integrated inmate management system (IMMS), audio visual (AV) and public telephone systems, which are considered critical aspects integral to the department’s security apparatus.
Additionally, the systems form the backbone of its transition to an automated information security system, according to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services.
The department told the committee that its unlawful procurement dispute with the current service provider has delayed its full implementation of the IMMS.
IMMS is meant to enhance the electronic motoring of parolees and control overcrowding and contraband.
The IMMS dispute, revealed the DCS, has resulted in an arbitration process to find an amicable solution rather than part ways with the current contractor, which would cost beyond the projected R300 million for its implementation.
On the installation of telephones in correctional services, the department said the service is “beyond its scope”.
Committee member Mogodu Moela called on the department to make a concrete commitment on the matter rather than leave it as open-ended as it is. Moela indicated that during a recent oversight visit to the Eastern Cape, the committee noticed there were fewer cases of illegal cellphone smuggling in correctional centres that have public phones.
Last month, the DCS said over 8 000 cellphones were confiscated from South African prisons during the festive season.
DCS national commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale told the committee that nothing much can be done regarding installation of telephones, except to advertise the requirements for the telephone service to bidders.
Thobakgale added that once the advertisement for the bid is out, only then can they commit to concrete timelines.
Similarly, portfolio committee member Kabelo Kgobisa Ngcaba decried the delays in rolling out 100% bandwidth, to ensure effective and efficient connection of all correctional services to the department’s network source.
The department said efforts to improve bandwidth are often hampered by the need to transition from copper to fibre infrastructure for compatibility reasons. However, many correctional centres are in rural areas where the existing network infrastructure still relies on copper lines, making this transition more challenging.
In 2014, it was reported that the DCS was witnessing gains associated with the AV system.
This system, which is for court proceedings for remand prisoners, establishes a video link between the prison in which an accused person is being held and the court in which the remand process is being heard, with the detainee and magistrate able to see and hear each other. It caters mainly for cases in which court appearances are brief and when matters would be postponed.
The criminal justice system reduced expenditure and detainee escape risk because of the live video links between correctional facilities and courts, the DCS said at the time.
The department told the committee that 48 AV systems have been placed in 26 sites since the AG findings.
Committee chairperson Kgomotso Ramolobeng raised questions about the consequence management imposed on those responsible for the unlawful IMMS tender.
“This matter can’t be left at that. What does the department intend to do about these officials?”
Ramolobeng said the committee is mindful of the funding shortfalls and the historical administrative matters that led to the current situation. “Hopefully, at the end of the term, all the department’s ICT systems would be in place.”
She urged the department to ensure the procurement of the electronic bracelet − meant to monitor parolees and aimed at reducing overcrowding in correctional centres − is done within the stipulated, relevant and lawful procurement statues to avoid the irregularities that saddle the previous processes.
Ramolobeng reiterated that the issue of the availability of public telephones for inmates in correctional centres should have strict timelines, given its critical role in the overall intelligence apparatus of the department.
“We also hope that when you present [the] next report on ICT, you will have reached 60% of bandwidth coverage of all correctional centres,” she said. “We have heard of great improvement thus far, but we think the department will in future get a correct analysis of the AG’s findings.”
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