G4S will no longer be investing in SA's correctional facilities

G4S will no longer be investing in SA’s correctional facilities

By: Natasha Archary

Private security company, G4S will no longer be investing in South Africa’s correctional facilities.

The company confirmed its decision to pull investments in the country following the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) terminating its concession contract with Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts (BCC) earlier in the week.

This follows Thabo Bester’s brazen escape from the G4S run Mangaung Correctional Center in Bloemfontein in May 2022.

With a number of G4S employees implicated in orchestrating Bester’s escape from the facility, the company’s credibility was highlighted, bringing the Department to its decision.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, 02 May, the DCS said the decision fell in line with the concession agreement, and a termination notice of 90-days has been given to BCC, thereafter, the contract will cease to operate.

“The notice of termination follows the announcement on 20 April 2023 by DCS that it had refereed its contract with BCC for a legal opinion. It has been deemed that BCC is neither competent, nor suitable to continue with the concession contract.

DCS will immediately resume with an internal exercise for the takeover process. The contract does lay down a procedure to be followed in this regard.”

Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola briefed MPs on Tuesday, on his department’s decision to terminate the G4S contract.

According to Lamola, the contract was set to only end in 2026, and reportedly cost government an estimated R1 billion a year.

Government pays G4S R45 million a month to run the Mangaung Correctional Center.

Lamola further explained that 22 inmates escaped from a total prison population of 143 223 in the 2021/2022 financial year.

Good riddens to bad rubbish

G4S issued a statement on Thursday, 04 May confirming that all future investments with regards to correctional services in the country will no longer apply.

“G4S South Africa notes that the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has issued a notice of termination to Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts (BCC), a private company that has held the contract to manage the Mangaung Correctional Center (MCC) since 2000.

Over the past 22-years, MCC has had a strong track record and has been recognised as a well-run center by a number of independent oversight bodies including the Human Rights Commission and the Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services, which in October 2022, assigned the MCC the highest possible rating for a correctional center.

G4S South Africa holds a non-controlling minority investment in BCC and on 22 November 2019 announced that upon expiry of BCC’s contract to manage MCC, G4S would no longer be investing in correctional services in South Africa. G4S is committed to investment in South Africa but it remains G4S’s firm intention to discontinue all investment in correctional services in South Africa.”

However, a number of South Africans say the country is better off without G4S’ corruption.