Should prisons go corporate?

CAPE TOWN – Private companies are likely to help build and manage five new prisons in South Africa as the country seeks to improve the way it houses thousands of inmates, the government said yesterday.

Many of its 158 859 inmates live in overcrowded, unsafe conditions. Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour said his department favoured a proposal to have private-sector partners heavily involved in the construction and management of the new prisons at an estimated cost of R6 billion.”In my budget vote I did mention this and I said this is the route to go …the decision is made,” Balfour told a parliamentary committee in Cape Town.He added that there was a pressing need to build new prisons in light of the dilapidated condition of many of the country’s corrections facilities.His remarks followed a presentation by the Perekisano-Mmogo Consortium, which conducted a feasibility study on the prospect of expanding the involvement of the corporate sector in SA’s prison system.There are currently two privately run prisons in South Africa.Corporate involvement in prison systems has soared in the past decade, particularly in the United States, where supporters argue that such institutions are more cost-effective and better-maintained than government-run facilities.Nampa-ReutersCorrectional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour said his department favoured a proposal to have private-sector partners heavily involved in the construction and management of the new prisons at an estimated cost of R6 billion.”In my budget vote I did mention this and I said this is the route to go …the decision is made,” Balfour told a parliamentary committee in Cape Town.He added that there was a pressing need to build new prisons in light of the dilapidated condition of many of the country’s corrections facilities.His remarks followed a presentation by the Perekisano-Mmogo Consortium, which conducted a feasibility study on the prospect of expanding the involvement of the corporate sector in SA’s prison system.There are currently two privately run prisons in South Africa.Corporate involvement in prison systems has soared in the past decade, particularly in the United States, where supporters argue that such institutions are more cost-effective and better-maintained than government-run facilities.Nampa-Reuters