President Lungu inspects Mwembeshi Maximum Facility

President Edgar Lungu has cautioned inmates to exhibit good behavior not only when they are in prison but even when they are pardoned under parole or presidential mercy.

President Lungu notes that it is embarrassing that some of those who are pardoned get back to their old ways and commit crimes.

Speaking during his tour of Mwembeshi maximum correctional facility yesterday, the Head of State advised the inmates to have faith that things will one day get better for them.

The President visited Mwembeshi maximum correctional facility so as to get first-hand information on the operations that will allow him to make decisions over the welfare of inmates across the country.

“Things will become better but you should have hope and faith that you’re here not because you are condemned, but to be given a chance to change and one day you will get back your freedom,” he said.

He assured the inmates that they would be rehabilitated and get back their freedom.

“I mean well, please keep the faith,” he said.

President Lungu was impressed with construction of two correctional facilities at Mwembeshi to replace the Lusaka central prison popularly known as “Chimbokaila” and the Lusaka remand prison commonly known as “Kamwala remand prison,” he noted.

President Lungu noted that the two facilities were initiated by the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) government under the Levy Mwanawasa administration.

“We just killed it when we came into government, you know leadership is about building blocks set by your predecessor, the idea to relocate Kamwala and Lusaka is not a PF brainchild. It was initiated by the MMD but for some reason, MMD was scared because people were accusing them of corruption just as they are accusing me but as Minister of Home Affairs, I told President Sata that we are going to relocate Kamwala and Lusaka into a place befitting a correctional facility and it was a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement,” he said.

And Zambia Correctional Service Commissioner General Chileshe Chisela said the two new correction facilities will have spacious dormitories, a chapel and a library.

“The two will be more spacious than the Lusaka central and remand correctional facilities as they will be more spacious. The females and the juveniles will be in their own facilities,” he said.

General Chisela stated that one of the facilities will have a capacity of 1800 bed space while the other will have a bed capacity of 1500.

General Chisela noted that the new facilities will have modern security gadgets.

And when he inspected the Zambia-Egypt joint farm, President Lungu was impressed with the new farming technologies that are being implemented to improve agriculture at the correctional facility.

The Head of state was pleased that the project has seen some of fruits which many said could not be grown locally being cultivated at the farm.

“So on Friday, we are giving more equipment to the correctional services so that they can expand agriculture and contribute more to the grain basket and be able to export. So, we are on course,” he said.

He stated that next week, he will tour Eastern Province to inspect an apple orchard in Chipangali and another farm in Vubwi district.

Zambia-Egypt joint farm Project Manager Professor Reda Abdelaziz noted that Zambia has favorable soils and weather conditions for a number of agriculture products adding that the country has potential to enhance its productivity.

Professor Abdelaziz said the project built a strategy on studies of the challenges that Zambia is facing in improving agriculture production.

“We observed that scarcity of water, energy and the intensive use of chemicals which increase the input cost,” he said.

He stated that the project has seen a reduction in the cost of input as it has reduced the use of chemicals.

Professor Abdelaziz who also led President Lungu on a tour of the farm said the project has introduced the production of fruits such as peach, pears, grapes, mangoes and oranges using new farming technologies