Construction of new prisons now back on track

The construction of new prisons in South Africa, which was thrown into disarray last year with the cancellation of the planned public private partnerships (PPPs) for the construction of four new prisons, appear to be back on track. However, it appears the correctional services department has ditched PPPs as the procurement model for new prisons. Master Builders South Africa (MBSA) said yesterday former correctional services minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told more than 100 representatives of the organisation during a meeting prior to her budget vote speech in Parliament last month the PPP projects had been postponed and not cancelled.

MBSA added that Mapisa-Nqakula said the primary reason for the decision was that going the PPP route would have deprived her department of “full control” of the projects. The department would therefore have been unable to direct and implement specific crucial management and security scenarios, including detailed parole decisions, and take control of sensitive security situations. The planned PPPs were to construct, operate and maintain the new prisons. Tumi Dlamini, MBSA’s executive director, said Mapisa-Nqakula had not made any commitment that the construction of new prisons would be though PPPs.

But Dlamini said Mapisa-Nqakula had made a commitment that the cancellation of the PPPs did not mean a cancellation of plans to construct such a facilities. Dlamini said the minister indicated the department needed to reconsider its policy and would engage with the industry on the next procurement process. The procurement process for the planned new prisons in Paarl, East London, Nigel and Klerksdorp commenced in 2003. The final tender was issued in September 2008 with bids to be submitted by May 2009.However, the bids were never opened because a review of the policy and process was instituted and the procurement process cancelled in November last year.

The construction industry cried foul over the cancellation, indicating the government could face claims amounting to tens of millions of rand in compensation for costs incurred when submitting bids for the PPPs. In her budget vote speech in Parliament last month, Mapisa-Nqakula confirmed the construction of six new correctional services centres would commence this year with another 12 centres to follow in the years ahead. The prison facilities approved for construction this year are two 500-bed centres each in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and the Eastern Cape, one 500-bed capacity centre in the Western Cape and a 1 000-bed capacity centre in KwaZulu-Natal.

Mapisa-Nqakula said the building and maintenance of correctional facilities may still be best provided by third parties but such a decision could only be taken once the department had pronounced on its long term demand for facilities in relation to both the optimal size for inmate type and location. She said the department believed the size of centres should be based on requirements as opposed to the initial proposal that the new facilities should have a capacity of 3 000 beds each. Dlamini said MBSA anticipated that new correctional services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele would honour the commitment to commence the building of correctional facilities and the renovation and refurbishment of existing facilities throughout the country.