The Amajuba District Municipality was in the spotlight on Tuesday afternoon, 25 April 2023, as the Deputy Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Patekile Holomisa, visited the municipality’s offices in Madadeni, KwaZulu-Natal.
The purpose of the visit was to engage with traditional leaders at the Amajuba District Council Chamber on the role of traditional leadership institutions and communities in building a moral and ethical society.
During the engagement, the focus was on the Memorandum of Understanding between Correctional Services and the House of Traditional Leaders. Holomisa emphasised the central role that traditional leaders should play in the fight against crime, particularly in community mobilisation and addressing gender-based violence and femicide head-on.
“Traditional leaders have a crucial role to play in creating safer communities and combating crime,” said Holomisa, asserting the importance of their involvement in addressing societal challenges.
Another significant topic on the agenda was the resuscitation of community corrections forums, which aim to promote community participation in the correctional process. The engagement aimed to empower traditional leaders with a better understanding of the community corrections system and the conditions of release for parolees.
Holomisa’s visit was seen as an opportunity for the Department of Correctional Services and the traditional leaders to better understand each other and collaborate in finding solutions to challenges in the criminal justice system.
Following the engagement, Holomisa is scheduled to conduct an operational visit to the Waterval Management Area on Wednesday, 26 April 2023.
The visit to the prison facility in the Utrecht area is aimed at assessing the facility’s functional state and addressing pressing needs that require executive intervention.
With the focus now being directed towards local correctional facilities, opinions and views on the visit and its outcomes are welcomed in the comment section below.