An inmate who secured a court victory compelling Correctional Services to release a dying prisoner on parole is now taking on prison authorities for allegedly inflating canteen prices.
Piet Kgwatedi Mokwena, a third-year LLB student at Unisa and former businessman, wanted administrators of Pretoria’s Kgoi Mampuru II prison investigated for “tax theft, corruption and irrational inflation of prices”.
He sent his letter requesting the probe to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Department of Correctional Services, the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services and Parliament’s portfolio committee on correctional services.
Kgoi Mampuru II has three canteens, two of which are for prisoners and the other for visitors. Mokwena complained that the “irrationally inflated” prices of consumables there were to “the detriment of the prisoners and their families”.
Central to Mokwena’s complaint was that the canteens imposed VAT on consumables, violating the Correctional Services Act that exempted prison canteens from collecting tax or its users from paying any levy.
However, Kgoi Mampuru canteens imposed a 10% VAT, Mokwena said. He supplied slips indicating that VAT was charged on purchases.
“Probative material is readily available to prove that differing VAT is deducted by these prison canteens and therefore such material is a fortiori (“for an even stronger reason”) for one to believe that there is indeed a reasonable suspicion that fraud, corruption and/or tax theft is being committed by senior correctional officials within the Department of Correctional Services,” Mokwena added.
Questions that Mokwena wanted answered included where the VAT went to and who authorised its deduction.
It was equally suspicious that canteens imposed VAT of 10%, which differed from the 15% VAT imposed on the general population, Mokwena said.
“One should ask a simple question as to how it is possible that the prison canteens determine their own VAT rate, which is far below the standard rate set by the minister.”
Last year, Mokwena successfully litigated against Correctional Services to release Mike Fikile Phahlamohlaka, who had been diagnosed with a brain tumour. The matter was heard at the high court in Pretoria.
The department said it would institute the probe Mokwena requested, but it denied pricing impropriety at the canteens.
“The allegation that prices have been extremely inflated is not true,” said Mocheta Monama, the department’s Gauteng spokesperson. “Like any business, the canteen puts a mark-up of 10% on products for the purposes of profit. Products cannot be sold at the same price we bought them from the suppliers. This is done for various reasons, including covering administrative costs. The outcome of the formal investigation will... be shared and explained to offender Mokwena,” said Monama.
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