The new manager of the Department of Correctional Services’ community corrections
office in Carletonville loves being involved in the community.
Mrs Abigail Madonsela started managing this office, situated in Gold Street, earlier this year. Before that, she spent 23 years of her life in the same department in Johannesburg. Among others, she worked in female prisons.
Madonsela told the Herald on Monday that she applied for the position because
of her passion for community corrections. Despite having the necessary experience, she was still surprised when she got the job as she actually did not know Merafong at all. Her office serves the whole of the Merafong municipality.
Since her arrival, Madonsela has found that her colleagues are much friendlier than the city folk. She also loves the fact that the office is involved in various community initiatives. It recently formed the base from which a Mandela Day outreach to remove all the illegal abortion posters in Carletonville and has also organised other events like
a recent men’s prayer meeting. It also helped with the handing out of blankets
at an orphanage for Mandela Day.
Madonsela also plans to tackle other community projects, such as reviving the vegetable garden project the office headed about a decade ago.
In the meantime, she has learnt a lot about the community and its problems.
‘Drug abuse is a massive problem here. All of the offenders whom we are working with have committed their offences because of drugs, in one way or another,’ she says.
The community corrections office in Carletonville is currently dealing with 294 parolees and 64 offenders or alleged offenders. These include people awaiting trial and offenders sentenced to correctional supervision alone (so called 2761 H offenders). It also deals with those who first had to complete a three month
prison term before having to serve under correctional supervision. During correctional supervision, offenders are not kept in prison but have to adhere
to a number of strict rules, which include doing hours of community work at places like government buildings.