Come July, there will be no traces of G4S at the Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC), bringing to an end 22 years of a disastrous term by the global multinational security company that was put forward as the best in its field, security.
On Tuesday the department of correctional services announced it was cutting ties with the Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts, which include its subsidiaries such as G4S, serving them a termination notice for a period of 90 days.
However, the department is refusing to say whether there will be a penalty for their decision to cut ties with the company, avoiding potential litigation from G4S.
The British company was getting R45m per month, one of biggest contracts it had with the South African government.
The department has since 2001 until the 2021/22 paid R7.7bn to the company to manage the Bloemfontein facility, which holds about 2,928 dangerous inmates out of the overall sentenced prison population of 157,135. The projection of the value until the end of the contract would be nearly R2,60bn.
Last month, Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola told parliament that the department entered a concession agreement with the BCC in the early 2000 as part of a private public partnership. MCC is one of two prisons that are managed by private companies.
Lamola said while the department struggled the afford these contracts, it had an obligation to honour them.
Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the reason behind the cancelation of the contract was “it has been deemed that BCC is neither competent, nor suitable to continue with the concession contract”.
While there have been numerous scandals at the MCC, around the torture of inmates and strip searches of prison warders resulting in a temporary takeover by the department previously, the partnership came crashing down with the orchestrated escape of the murderous scammer and rapist, Thabo Bester, which was only confirmed 10 months after he had fled the facility by burning a body in his cell.
He and his girlfriend Dr Nandipha Magudumana were arrested in Tanzania and to date eight people, including four employees from G4S, have been arrested in connection with aiding Bester to escape.
Nxumalo said the department would take over the facility and its operation.
“The building will become the property of the state. The takeover process will pronounce what is to happen with the current G4S employees. The contract does provide for a termination as a result of breaches. Contracts are subject to litigation and so I would not want to talk about any penalties.”
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