R5.4bn a year: The cost of foreign inmates in SA prisons

Correctional Services says 15,284 foreign nationals are sentenced offenders who could potentially qualify for transfers, although differences in parole systems mean the process requires further legal and administrative work.

The Department of Correctional Services says more than 30,000 foreign nationals are currently incarcerated in South African prisons, including 4,731 Zimbabwean offenders, as government moves closer to implementing a prisoner transfer agreement between the two countries.

In an interview on Newzroom Afrika, Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said South Africa and Zimbabwe had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing a framework for cooperation between their correctional services.

He said the agreement would eventually allow sentenced offenders to serve their prison terms in their countries of origin, while also strengthening information sharing and cooperation between the two countries.

“What happened is that South Africa and Zimbabwe concluded a memorandum of understanding in a way that establishes a framework for cooperation between correctional services in South Africa and Zimbabwe prisons and correctional services,” Nxumalo said.

However, he stressed that the agreement did not mean prisoners would immediately begin crossing the border.

“This is a framework. The parole regime is not the same for all countries,” he said.

Nxumalo said South Africa's prison population currently stood at 173,955 inmates, representing overcrowding of 62%.

Of that number, 30,527 were foreign nationals, with 15,284 classified as sentenced offenders and the remainder awaiting the outcome of their court cases.

Zimbabwe accounted for 4,731 offenders, followed by Mozambique, Malawi and Lesotho among the largest groups of foreign nationals in South African correctional facilities.

Nxumalo said the sentenced offenders represented the group that could potentially qualify for interstate transfers once agreements were concluded with their respective countries.

He said there was, however, no exact figure yet for how many Zimbabwean prisoners would eventually be transferred because differences in sentencing and parole systems still had to be addressed.

“In some countries, their parole regime is that if you are sentenced to life, you serve your entire term in a correctional facility. Whereas with South Africa, you will serve at least 25 years,” he said.

He added that research conducted by Correctional Services found that more than 80% of foreign nationals surveyed indicated they would prefer serving their sentences in their home countries to remain closer to their families.