Minimum surface area requirements per person, not including space taken up by sanitary facilities and personal lockers, are the following:

• communal cell (dormitory): 3.3 m2

• single cell: 5.5 m2

• hospital communal cell: 4.6 m2

• hospital single cell: 9 m2¹

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) reported, in 2020, a systemic failure to ensure adequate accommodation standards.²

At Ebongweni Super Maximum, single cells only measure 5 m2.³

Older facilities are generally made up of communal cells whereas newer ones also have single cells. The majority of prisoners are held in communal cells¹ accommodating between 24 and 100 prisoners at a time.².
Many cells hold more people than what they were built for.³ Communal cells designed for 40 people hold closer to 100. Single cells frequently hold three people at a time.
The SAHRC reported, in 2020, that people held in communal cells in remand centres often do not have sufficient space between beds and sometimes have to share a single bed.⁴

Cells must have sufficient artificial lighting to enable prisoners to read and write (Regulations to the Correctional Services Act, Regulation 3.2c). Monitoring bodies¹ have observed faulty and unsafe electrical systems and/or poor lighting in a majority of facilities as a result of the dilapidated infrastructure. At Bizana Remand, electrical sockets in cells and offices were dysfunctional. Three cells did not have lighting. Officials raised their concerns to the prison administration, but these were never addressed. At Pollsmoor Medium B, passages and communal cells were completely dark. Officials operated using torches and unlocking prisoners in complete darkness, compromising security measures. In a subsequent unannounced visit, light fittings were found to have been removed from cells and passages.²

In March 2022, during an investigation on a suicide at Westville Medium B remand detention centre, the JICS found that a man had been placed in segregation for 30 days in a cell that did not have functional lighting. Officials could not see far enough into the cell to notice that he had committed suicide. His segregation was never reported to the JICS. The suicide was discovered when officials went into his cell to take him to court. The JICS highlights that dysfunctional lighting in single cells forces prisoners “to either sleep for extended periods or sit in the dark”, and recalls that “oversleeping may cause health issues including depression“. Many other single cells also did not have functional lighting.²

Every correctional centre must provide access to hot and cold water for washing purposes at all times (Regulations to the Correctional Services Act, Regulation 3.2d).
In practice, the JICS reports that almost a third of facilities, mostly old and rural, do not have access to hot water. Where access is provided, it is usually available via a sink.

Sanitary facilities must be available at all times with access to hot and cold water for washing purposes. These facilities must be partitioned off in communal cells (Regulations to the Correctional Services Act, Regulation 3.2). In practice, hot water is not always available.¹² Prisoners must sometimes use an urn to boil water, which creates a security risk.² During a visit to Ebongweni Super-Maximum in May 2021, prisoners reported to the JICS that some sections had no water for showers. The hospital section had a dysfunctional plumbing system.³

The conditions of the sanitary facilities can vary significantly. The SAHRC reports inadequate waste disposal and dysfunctional sanitary facilities.¹² Older facilities generally have communal cells that may or may not have a partitioned-off toilet. These may have issues such as mould, dysfunctional plumbing, and/or unpleasant odours. In newer centres, single cells are generally equipped with a sink and a toilet.

In 2022, the JICS reported that the small rural facility of Ingwavuma did not have running water. The sanitary facility was dysfunctional and prisoners had to use water from buckets to bathe and flush toilets. At Bizana Remand and Pollsmoor Medium B, exposed plumbing also needed repairs.³

The prison administration states that all prisoners are provided with toiletry free of charge, including a comb, a razor blade (one per week), a razor, a shaving brush, bars of laundry soap (2 x 200 gr), bars of toilet soap (2 x 100 gr), a face cloth, a towel, toothpaste, a toothbrush and toilet paper. Most facilities provide sanitary towels free of charge. However, the JICS still receives complaints regarding access to these products. Prisoners are required to have their beards and hair clean and neat at all times (B-Orders, chapter 1, paragraph 37.3).

The prison administration must provide prisoners with the means to keep their person, clothing, bedding and cell clean and tidy (Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998, Section 9).

All prisoners must be provided with suitable bedding to maintain their basic hygiene standards. Some newer facilities have washing machines and dryers that prisoners can use to clean their bedding.

Prisoners are integrated into various production processes managed by the prison administration:

• 21 big farms and 115 small sites (vegetables)

• 14 orchards

• 15 beef projects and 5 small stock farms

• 15 pig farms

• 17 dairies

• 3 broiler projects

• 7 layers

• 20 farms (animal fodder)

The administration reports several issues in piggeries, including improper wastewater disposal discharge, dilapidated infrastructure (broken windowpanes, asbestos ceilings), dysfunctional air conditioners at the furrowing houses and dysfunctional water reticulation systems (leaking taps and drinking nipples).¹