Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Govt works to transform prisons

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Government says it is putting in place measures to transform the penal system in an effort to turn prisons into modern correctional institutions.

Home Affairs Minister, Kalombo Mwansa, noted that prisons exist as correctional institutions and not for punishment.

Dr. Mwansa was speaking after a conducted tour of Mukobeko Maximum Prison in Kabwe yesterday.

And speaking at the prisons service annual ball, Dr Mwansa said the role of prisons should aim at rehabilitating offenders and successfully reintegrating them into society as law abiding citizens.

He noted that the provision of rehabilitating programmes, community training and increased agriculture production has contributed meaningfully to the national food basket.

And Dr Mwansa also disclosed that government was in the process of mechanising prisons farms across the country in an effort to scale up food production.

He, further, revealed that the prisons service would be among the beneficiaries of tractors that President Banda received on behalf of the country from the Libyan government.

Speaking at the same function, Prisons Service Commissioner, Gibby Nawa, said the service is committed to ensuring it operates in line with government policy of providing effective correctional services.

He disclosed that the service had in the last year recorded an increase in skills training and food production.

Mr Nawa also revealed that the service produced 70, 000 x 50 kilogramme bags of maize representing a 40 per cent increase and 150 metric tonnes of Wheat representating a 50 per cent increase in production of both grain compared to the previous year.

He commended government for supporting the Service with various logistics such as transport and agriculture equipment to ease its operations.

He, however, called on government to consider reducing the staff-inmate ratio by employing more prisons staff in order to achieve the standard staff ratio to achieve adequate supervision and monitoring.

ZANIS/ENDS/CM/SJK

23 COMMENTS

  1. #2

    Naughty!:d

    Dont worry guys! That transformation will take ages. Maybe only your grandchildrens’ children will live to see that change.

  2. Overdue. Prisons today are training grounds. Separate first time offenders, offer education i.e. O’level’s or something vocational as well. Prisons are where people are supposed to be corrected and humanized. Not De-humanized. Most murders in this country are carried out by people who have been hardened in our deplorable prison system.

    Sure, lets cage them. I don’t want them on my streets. But I wouldn’t want them worse. To show empathy is not a sign of weakness. Its virtue is best when expressed to those less fortunate in the experience of love and kindness or the universal right to family.

  3. I love it cos i have a daul citizenship and don’t know whats going to happen to me when i go back to ZED,i might be the first one to go in.

  4. You people saying let the prisons be , don’t you know that good correctional facilities are essential. Most prisons act as universities for even hardening criminals not forgetting the spread of Aids. When those prisoners are released they pass on what they have acquired academically and physically onto the unsuspecting population. You are forgetting that some of these criminals are not in there forever and will be sharing mnibuses or will be your neighbours in a couple of years time.

  5. i think conditions in prisons a ok the way the are . if they a improved evryone would want to be caged and live off tax payers money without a care in the world . prisons a meant to deplorable so that pipo repent and not want to go back.

  6. Same old same political taking, i don’t for the thugs anyway. It’s a way to play with the tax payer’s money. Freaks, do the right things.

  7. ya,prisons should be improved and prisoners given some constructive work to do(cleaning up,farming e.t.c).prisoners may be lawbreakers but they are people and just like every person they serve as a resource to the nation. :):):)

  8. Lets put these crimnals we have to good use, prisons are big business if utilised properly.

    Prisoners are praticaly legalised slaves and so, should be made to work like slaves, this way they will pay back to society as well as learn the benefit of hard working.

    We must examine the techniqs which where used by slave masters to effectively use slaves and employ these techniques to the convicts and boom, money will be made, lessons will be learnt by the convicts, that way everyone wins.

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