Deputy Minister pays visit to ‘prison babies’

By Ofentse Mokae
06 November 2009

Deputy Correctional Services Minister Hlengiwe Mkhize paid a visited to babies imprisoned along with their mothers at Cape Town’s Polsmoor Prison today.

The deputy minister’s visit forms part of the Imbeleko Project launched by her department countrywide, aimed at addressing the needs of babies living with their imprisoned moms behind bars.

Mkhize interacted with women offenders, together with their babies, and also visited the crèche and the unit for mothers and babies.

Speaking exclusively to the Bush Radio Mkhize said the visit was to encourage the departamental officials on how o implement the special project.

“When we gave our budget speech earlier this year we committed to look after the most vulnerable groups in our correctional centers, most children and women,” Mkhize said.

Mkhize said they have we encouraged their officials to ensure that some of the facilities are designed in such a way the environment is conducive for a mother and child.

“It’s a painful experience for mothers to be locked in a correctional centre with their children, they feel their children can do better outside, but they appreciated a redesign to the facilities,” added Mkhize.

The department said the long term objective, with the support of the families of inmates, communities, civil society formations, and the broader South African society, is to find appropriate homes for the children outside correctional centres.

Correctional Services sees this as the best way, in the child’s interest, of ensuring that incarceration does not become the only environment known to the babies behind bars, particularly during their formative years.