Correctional Services Department must scrap 25-year deal with G4S ...

The police union called on the government to end its partnership with the multinational security company to run Mangaung Prison, following Thabo Bester’s escape from the facility in May 2022.

A G4S van. Picture: Sethembiso Zulu/ EWN

JOHANNESBURG - The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) called on the Department of Correctional Services to revoke the 25-year contract it had with G4S to run Mangaung Prison, following the brazen escape by Facebook Rapist, Thabo Bester.

Bester's prison break gripped the country's attention, with new details of his escape coming to light.

Free State police confirmed that he faced a fresh murder charge, following claims he might have killed again during his escape.

The public-private partnership between the government and G4S was now under heavy scrutiny.

READ: DCS should have notified the public of Thabo Bester's escape - legal analyst

READ: Thabo Bester escape: Popcru slams running of some SA prisons by private entities

G4S was part of a consortium that signed a 25-year deal with the Department of Correctional Services to run the Mangaung Prison facility.

The contract between the government and the multinational private security company is expected to run until 2026.

Mangaung Prison was one of two private facilities, including another in Makhado, Limpopo.

It was understood that the government paid a combined R1 billion a year to the service providers to manage the prisons.

Popcru spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said this meant that the department paid more than R400 per prisoner a day.

The union accused the multinational companies contracted to run the prisons of chasing profits over security, calling for the government to scrap both contracts and take over the facilities.

Mamabolo also said the policy on the public-private partnership was flawed, adding that the private prisons were not cost-effective, and they had a complete disregard for human rights.