Subject: Research input on parole: foreign national offenders and parole boards

Dear Committee Secretary,

I write regarding the Committee's meeting of 29 September 2026 on the overhaul of the parole system (https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/43730/). Please convey this note to the Chairperson and Members if appropriate.

My doctoral thesis (Wits, Faculty of Law, submitted for examination April 2026) examines parole in Gauteng, drawing on 26 interviews with parole board members across eight management areas. I previously shared my Punishment & Society article and a thesis summary with the Department and Committee.

The Minister said parole cannot be used to manage overcrowding. My research suggests it is also used as a route to deportation for foreign national offenders, who are processed for parole and then removed without a supervised period in the community. The resources spent on considering them for parole are largely wasted, and parole's purposes of supervision and reintegration are not served.

My main recommendations are:

1. Give the DCS and Home Affairs Standard Operating Procedure on deporting foreign national parolees (Chapter 17) a statutory footing, so that it is public and subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
2. Review the transfer of foreign national parolees to Lindela, where conditions and the inability to enforce parole conditions are concerns.
3. Pursue bilateral repatriation and transfer agreements with neighbouring states, with information sharing on deported offenders and safeguards against harm to those removed.
4. Amend the Correctional Services Act to settle the quorum question raised by Mr Niehaus. Gauteng boards routinely sit with a chairperson or vice-chairperson, the departmental secretary and one community member.
5. Provide induction and continuous training for board members on the legislation, policies and SOPs they apply.
6. Professionalise the boards as an independent service, with labour protections, to improve retention and reduce vacancies, and provide wellness support for members.

I would be glad to brief the Committee or its research unit, or to share relevant extracts of the thesis, which is under examination.

Please see my published article:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14624745261455342?_gl=1*1ijqayo*_up*MQ..*_ga*MjAxNTkzMzQ5Mi4xNzkxMTg1NDQ3*_ga_60R758KFDG*czE3OTExODU0NDYkbzEkZzEkdDE3OTExODU1MDgkajYwJGwxJGg4NDI0MzM0ODM.

Yours sincerely,

Emmanuel O. Maravanyika