SowetanLive reports that the SA Correctional Services Workers Union (Sacoswu) has called on government to do more in order to stop attacks on prison warders across the country.  

The call came after two correctional services workers were stabbed by inmates at the Goodwood prison in Cape Town on Friday.  They survived the attack.  Sacoswu general secretary Belinda Rathebe said the attacks were prevalent at various correctional services centres.  "Enough is enough, this has to stop.  It is high time that the department be litigated for these negligent incidents from its side.  The department gave offenders more rights than our own officials.  The trend will show that offenders target the weekend knowing exactly that centres are short-staffed," said Rathebe.  She added that there had been an attack on employees at the St Albans prison in Port Elizabeth on Sunday, but the department said no such incident had been reported.  Department spokesperson Logan Maistry commented:  "The safety of our staff is of paramount importance, and [we] take any attack on our officials in a very serious light.  In this regard, the department is currently implementing various measures, including increasing the yearly intake at our training colleges, re-employing former employees of the department as well as deployment of the Emergency Support Team (EST), to assist in beefing [up] the number of officials on the ground."

• Read the full original of Penwell Dlamini’s report in the above regard at SowetanLive

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