Buzzapp Master 
Freedom Font Plus leader Dr Pieter Groenewald during the swearing-in ceremony of the new national executive members at Cape Town International Convention Centre on Wednesday. (Gallo Images/Brenton Geach)
The failings at prisions is what the ANC presided; and they are among the criteria according to which Pieter Groenewald’s record in the coming years must be judged, writes Terence Corrigan in response to Anthony Matumba.
According to the Economic Freedom Fighters’ Anthony Matumba (“Groenewald’s appointment is a betrayal of the people”, 10 July), the appointment of Pieter Groenewald as Minister of Correctional Services is “a betrayal to our people and all who fought in the liberation struggle”.
The thrust of his argument is that given Groenewald’s past support of apartheid, and his endorsement of capital punishment, he is an inappropriate choice for this position.
Indeed, he goes on to make it clear that his objection is deeply ideological, echoing his party’s rejection of “a relationship with apartheid leaders and DA apartheid apologists and will continue to expose white supremacists who are now in our governing halls”.
One need hold no brief for Groenewald or the Freedom Front Plus – I certainly hold none – to recognise the fallacies and dangers of his argument. South Africa is a pluralist democracy, and the FF+ is a duly elected expression of a strain of opinion in the country. It has chosen to operate within the constitutional framework – which is more than can be said for some of its critics. That its message and policy offering is not to everyone’s taste does not detract from this.
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Matumba also indicates that the responsibility for rehabilitation of offenders falls on the Minister’s shoulders. Here he is correct, and the Minister faces daunting challenges: the dreadful conditions in our prisons predate the transition to democracy, and remain a blot on the democratic era.
The latest report of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services says: “As of 31 March 2023, the total inmate population was 157 056 (101 186 sentenced offenders and 55 870 remand detainees), a national overcrowding rate of 146%. Practically, this means truly intolerable conditions of detention. I say intolerable, but of course, they are tolerated because inmates are subjected to them. But they should not be. The intolerability is at a human, legal, statutory and constitutional level.”
As for rehabilitation, it is estimated that some 90% of South Africa’s offenders reoffend, one of the highest recidivism rates in the world.
These are failings over which a “liberation movement” has presided; and they are among the criteria according to which Groenewald’s record in the coming years must be judged.
Can prisons be places of redemption, rather than merely of human warehousing? There is a vast body of evidence that South Africa’s people yearn for a life of dignity, security and prosperity, and are largely indifferent to the racial, religious or political complexion of those who might deliver it.
Today’s priority must be the improvement of people’s lives in the present and their prospects for the future. Those tasked with these responsibilities must be evaluated on their success or failure in so doing – their ideological orientation is of very much secondary importance and their racial profile of none at all.
– Terence Corrigan is with the Institute of Race Relations.
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