Department expands bakery programme to cut costs

THE Department of Correctional Services (DCS) says its bakery programme is playing a critical role in reducing costs, promoting self-sufficiency, and providing offenders with skills training and work experience.

- HOPE NTANZI

Chief Deputy Commissioner, Anna Malepo, briefed Parliament's Portfolio Committee on the department's ongoing efforts to expand its network of correctional centre bakeries, improve bread production, and address operational challenges.

Malepo said the department currently operates 11 bakeries nationally, which supply bread to 39 correctional centres.

A twelfth bakery in Durban was commissioned in June 2025 and is expected to become fully operational in the current financial year.

The initiative, she explained, is backed by Section 3 of the Correctional Services Act, which requires the department to be as self-sufficient as possible and to operate on business principles.

She said DCS is also legally and morally obligated to provide inmates with an adequate diet to promote good health.