The Sunday News
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) in Bulawayo has set in motion projects to modernise operations at its farms to maximise production as well as sprucing their facilities to improve the living conditions of inmates, an official has said.
ZPCS Officer Commanding Bulawayo Province, Commissioner Mkhulunyelwa Ngwenya, told Sunday News at Khami Maximum Prison on Friday that the organisation has engaged on an infrastructure development drive that has seen it sprucing up its facilities.
ZPCS Commissioner-General Moses Chihobvu
“I was deployed to Bulawayo on 15 January 2023. My first task was to move around the province and have an appreciation of what was happening. I did realise that in most of our prisons, the infrastructure was quite old and thus my first task was to try and spruce up our infrastructure so that our inmates live in a conducive environment.
“We have done that and we are still doing that. You can witness at Bulawayo Prison that we have managed to paint the entire exterior perimeter wall and we are also painting the inside of the prison. We are also looking at the floors and the cooking facilities to ensure that they are all functioning and can fully assist our inmates in terms of being habitable,” said Comm Ngwenya.
He said the construction work being done at Bulawayo Prison like painting was being done by both officers and inmates.
“The Bulawayo Prison project is being conducted by both inmates and our officers. We are getting the financial support from the fiscus as well as partners,” said Comm Ngwenya.
He appealed to individuals and corporates who can partner with the organisation for sustainable projects.
“We really do not want to be fed but we are saying let’s come together and have a win-win situation where you leave us able to work alone. We need sustainable assistance and partnerships that will give us the fishing rods and the knowledge ahead of the fish themselves. This way we might be able to sustain our prisons,” said Comm Ngwenya.
Meanwhile, the organisation has set sights on improving agricultural production ten-fold through modernising their agriculture practices. Comm Ngwenya said they had started implementing modern practices like artificial insemination, among other initiatives, in order to improve production.
“My vision is to see the province as the best province in terms of animal production. We have brought up some initiatives to have a better breed. If you look at our animals, they are quite small and need a bit of some breeding. As such we have done some artificial insemination and we are also working with other farmers in order to get better breeds in terms of bulls. We are also looking at our goats; we are trying to focus on the Boer breed. This is the one which we are focusing on and we want to improve the breed so that we are able to feed inmates and contribute towards food security in the country,” said Comm Ngwenya.
At the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), ZPCS won the best exhibitor in Agricultural and/or Irrigation Equipment award and Comm Ngwenya said this showed the impact the organisation was having in the agriculture sector.
“Bulawayo Province was the host province of the ZITF and naturally we contributed a lot towards the exhibition. As I said, our vision as a province is to become the best in terms of agriculture in both crop and animal production. That was not only an exhibition, but those products actually come from our farms here in Bulawayo as well as Matabeleland North and other provinces,” he said. — @nyeve14
