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It is with absolute awe and amazement when employees of the Department of Correctional Services were informed that the Department of Correctional Services, have mandated and budgeted to supply all awaiting trial detainees with ‘Yellow clothing’ to identify them as and when and on each and every ad hoc occasion are required to attend court or be escorted outside of the correctional centre that they are being detained in.
The Department in this matter having sufficient budget to oblige to this kind of procedure, yet when its own staff is at a lack of uniforms and or identification badges that they need, especially so in the community corrections where parolees are being monitored, then the Department lacks the necessary funds to accommodate its members and in so doing to restore pride and dignity to each and every one that serves it with the utmost of loyalty and diligence (assiduousness, meticulousness, conscientiousness, attentiveness, persistence) on each and every day of their employment within the Department of Correctional Services.
Amazingly so that some of the awaiting trial detainees may only be imprisoned for 3 to 4 days, yet they are supplied with the ‘yellow appropriate clothing’ that is thereafter discarded (superfluous, thrown away) all at great cost to the Department and also to the Departments employees for whom no budget exists to supply them with uniforms and identification badges.
The Batho Pele principle that government seems to have adopted as its motto for good accountable and loyal recognition of all those that it employees, seems to have disappeared as and when any person in the Department of Correctional Services, their wants, their grievances and or any matter, needs to be addressed and or the necessary ameliorated remedial action taken to address the situation and taken corrective measure in the matter, then there is no budget to address the outstanding issues, that are relevant and crucial to its employees.
Whereas in the past all correctional services employees enjoyed the pride of actually being employed by the Department of Correctional Services, the department has of late, seemed to have forgotten that it has a responsibility to its employees to make their working environment as congenial (amiable, genial, agreeable, hospitable) as possible yet in the process all of their wants are ignored or even any attempt made to address them in an amicable fashion.
The Correctional Officers may consider too now, in view of the fact that its employer cannot provide it with uniforms, perhaps approach the Economic Freedom Fighters, whom apparently has an abundant supply of red overalls that Correctional Officials can now wear, as the Department seems to be waiting for the person still to be born, to whom they can award the contract for the manufacturing and supply of uniforms and identification badges, which is conspicuously absent at this point in time.
The amazingly part of the matter is that the Department seems to have sufficient budget and funds to do all kind of new innovations, having events that are catered for in abundance, yet when it concerns its employees it lacks the responsibility towards them dismally.
The medical aid scheme that was something that was free has now turned out to be a fund that they have to contribute to, some as much as R 4000 per month, where the subsidy allowance towards it remains stagnant, the housing allowance that they previously received has been cut to the bone, and then the Department claims and wants their employees to be loyal, faithful, and not be ‘contributing to quick cash situations’ that may be present amongst those that are incarcerated and or in need or want of something for which they are prepared to pay an ex gratia amount for.
So the problem is actually being created by the Department, in disowning their employees of their benefits and condoning the actions that is currently prevailing to substantiate the income of employees due to the lack of benefits that they are now deprived of.
