BULAWAYO - The state of prisons in the Matabeleland region is deplorable, with some having gone more than 10 years with out major repairs, an official has said.
Zimbabwe Prison Service (ZPS) Senior Assistant Commissioner for the region, Rhodes Moyo, said that most of the prisons in the region needed urgent renovations. Most of the prison infrastructure is in a deplorable state and needs urgent repairs. Some institutions have gone for 10 years without repairs. This has led to serious water pipe leakages and roofs falling off, Moyo said.
He added that prisons such as Beitbridge and Hwange were in a terrible state while Mulondolozi was the worse affected.
According to the Commissioner, ZPS is also facing a critical shortage of accommodation for prison staff, with most staying outside complexes due to overcrowding. The critical shortage of accommodation is dire and is demoralising our staff as they are forced to travel long distances to work, he said, adding that this also made their work very difficult especially during emergencies.
However, Moyo acknowledge the improvements in transport after the region acquired five security vehicles from the government. Transport problems are now a thing of the past, but our main challenge is that we are not getting enough fuel for the vehicles, he said. He added that there was a great improvement in terms of food availability for prisoners as they had managed to source it from their Harare counterparts.
Post published in: News