Case Study: Private Prisons

The South African government implemented two 25-year private prison concessions in 2000 under the Asset Procurement and Operating Partnership Systems (APOPS). While a government review found that these facilities provided higher quality services than public prisons at comparable daily operating costs, the projects suffered from a lack of initial feasibility studies and overly high specifications based on UK models. Consequently, high interest rates and equity returns have resulted in these two prisons consuming 5% of the Department of Correctional Services' total budget for the 25-year duration of the contracts.

• The private prisons in Bloemfontein and Louis Trichardt, operational since 2002, offered superior facilities and service levels compared to public prisons, with daily operating costs per prisoner remaining comparable to the public sector.
• The long-term costs to the government were inflated because the prisons were designed based on UK specifications that exceeded affordability limits, and the deals included high interest rates and returns on equity due to perceived risks.
• The financial commitment for these two specific APOPS prisons is significant, representing 5% of the entire budget for Correctional Services over the 25-year concession period.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2008). Case Study: Private Prisons. https://saiia.org.za/news/case-study-private-prisons/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Case Study: Private Prisons. 2008. https://saiia.org.za/news/case-study-private-prisons/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Case Study: Private Prisons |date=24 April 2008 |url=https://saiia.org.za/news/case-study-private-prisons/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2008case, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Case Study: Private Prisons}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2008}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/news/case-study-private-prisons/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }