INCOMPETENCE in the Department of Home Affairs is causing serious problems for the judicial system and prisons authorities.
The high number of foreign nationals within South Africa who do not have proper documentation and find themselves in conflict with the laws of the land are contributing to the over-crowding in prisons.
The number of foreign nationals presently incarcerated in Gauteng's prisons is 5571, including 2826 who have been sentenced and 2725 who are awaiting trial.
Johannesburg Prison houses 2191 foreign nationals, of which 1552 are remand detainees. This is against a total population of just under 10000.
Senior magistrate and head of crime section in Joburg, Pieter du Plessis, told the portfolio committee on correctional services during an oversight briefing at Johannesburg Central Prison that "if the issue of foreign nationals was controlled adequately, about one-third of the cases can be cleared".
Home Affairs blamed for crime
INCOMPETENCE in the Department of Home Affairs is causing serious problems for the judicial system and prisons authorities.
The high number of foreign nationals within South Africa who do not have proper documentation and find themselves in conflict with the laws of the land are contributing to the over-crowding in prisons.
The number of foreign nationals presently incarcerated in Gauteng's prisons is 5571, including 2826 who have been sentenced and 2725 who are awaiting trial.
Johannesburg Prison houses 2191 foreign nationals, of which 1552 are remand detainees. This is against a total population of just under 10000.
Senior magistrate and head of crime section in Joburg, Pieter du Plessis, told the portfolio committee on correctional services during an oversight briefing at Johannesburg Central Prison that "if the issue of foreign nationals was controlled adequately, about one-third of the cases can be cleared".