South Africa (SA) has concluded a bilateral agreement with Zimbabwe to facilitate the transfer of sentenced Zimbabwean inmates back to their home country as the government seeks to curb severe overcrowding in national prisons.
Appearing before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, Minister of Correctional Services Dr Pieter Groenewald highlighted the role of foreign nationals in driving capacity constraints, noting that Zimbabwean citizens currently make up the majority of non-South African inmates in the country’s penal system.
The transfer agreement comes as the department faces acute fiscal pressures, with officials warning lawmakers of a projected $46.8 million budget overspend for the 2026–27 financial year. Departmental representatives identified escalating costs in food, fleet vehicles, and outsourced services as the primary drivers behind the budget shortfall.
Groenewald placed the department’s fiscal predicament firmly on the parliamentary record during the session, warning that operational expenditures would continue to strain national resources unless structural pressures like prison overcrowding are urgently addressed.
“So, I just want to say, this financial year 2026-27 we have predicted spending over. I just wanted that on record already,” Groenewald told the committee.
–ChannelAfrica–
