The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services visited Nelspruit Correctional Centre on April 28 as the start of a week-long oversight visit to Mpumalanga.

Nelspruit Correctional Centre is a mixed facility that accommodates more than 1 500 sentenced and unsentenced male and female inmates.

Members of Parliament were able to engage directly with management, officials and stakeholders on matters of rehabilitation, security, inmate welfare and efficient functionality.

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Led by the chairperson, Kgomotso Ramolobeng, the committee has started a programme aimed at assessing conditions in correctional facilities in Mpumalanga, identifying operational challenges and supporting improvements across correctional centres.

Watch: Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services has concluded the first day of its oversight visit to the Nelspruit Correctional Centre, reinforcing accountability and transparency in the management of correctional facilities. Video: Youtube/Department of Correctional Services South Africa

They conducted a comprehensive inspection of key operational areas, assessing compliance, identifying gaps and noting best replication practices across centres.

Following the inspection, the Portfolio Committee expressed serious concerns about what they described as a laid-back attitude displayed by officials regarding adherence to protocols.

Ramolobeng observed officials on their cellphones during their visit, drinking coffee or eating in corridors, while neglecting delegated responsibilities like opening sections for the committee. Officials appeared confused when reprimanded about their attitude and inattentiveness, while an offender was seen moving around without an escort.

“We are very observant. This facility is too relaxed to be a correctional facility,” she said.

Another cause for concern was the state of the centre’s infrastructure compared to the expected conditions.

They noted the effective use of offender labour in restoring infrastructure after recent storm damage to facilities, which – according to them – demonstrated responsiveness and internal resource optimisation.

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Despite consistent efforts by centre officials to maintain clean, orderly and functional living conditions, challenges persist due to restrained resources. National commissioner Makgothi Thobagale emphasised the need to strengthen management systems and improve co-ordination across operational units to enhance efficiency and service delivery.

Further concerns center on security breaches, the smuggling of contraband and the lax adherence to protocols and officials’ involvement in prohibited activity.

Other key incidents and ongoing problems

The Portfolio Committee’s cause for concern stems from recent incidents and ongoing issues at the correctional centre.

Contraband smuggling is a recurring issue, with two incidents recorded in October 2025 and December 2025.

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On October 9, the Emergency Support Team worked jointly with the First Response Team on an unannounced search operation at Nelspruit Correctional Centre. The operation targeted eight cells in the A Section.

Confiscated contraband included 32 cellphones, 244 slopes of dagga, 35 sachets of nyaope and four SIM cards. The unannounced search of 12 cells on December 12 as part of Operation Vala revealed 34 cellphones, 126 sachets of dagga, multiple sharp objects and a saw blade.

Ramolobeng suggests that the sheer volume of smuggled contraband suggests a breakdown in management systems and a lack of consequences. She specifically highlighted the policy of solely banning visitors caught smuggling contraband into centres, instead of arresting them, which she argued creates a “circle of repeat offenders”.

Smuggling incidents are not isolated to the Nelspruit Correctional Centre, but occur regionwide. On April 15, two SAPS members were arrested for attempting to smuggle contraband into the Boksburg Correctional Centre. The contraband included Mandrax tablets and dagga.

In addition to crime within the Nelspruit Correctional Centre, there are multiple key infrastructure concerns. Richard Samuels, the deputy director-general for facilities management at the South African Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, expressed concern about the excessive maintenance backlog in Mpumalanga facilities. He said that centres struggle to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the National Environmental Management Act because of the lack of funding.

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The attending Portfolio Committee members noted that although the facility was generally clean, it was highly dilapidated.

“We observed paint peeling off walls, leaking roofs and, in one kitchen, a section of the roof that had been blown off by the wind. The latter was repaired using offender labour, and we continue to encourage the department to utilise offender labour wherever possible,” Ramolobeng said.

A final concern was a continuous understaffing problem at the centre. The committee noted that there were approximately 19 vacant positions at the facility. Along with the vacancies, there are an additional six officials placed on suspension on allegations of attempted contraband smuggling.

“Filling of these vacancies should be expedited as most of them are funded posts. We are also concerned about the number of officials placed on precautionary suspension or transferred pending investigations,” Ramalobeng said.

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