|
Minister reaffirms govt resolve to reduce...
2008-04-16 09:48:30
By Nasser Kigwangallah
Home Affairs minister Lawrence Masha has reiterated the government`s resolve to look for ways of ensuring that congestion of inmates in remand homes and prisons was reduced to a greater extent through Phase-2 of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP-II).
The programme that begins this year ends in 2012. The minister made the remark in Dar es Salaam on Monday when opening a two-day Working Meeting of Prison Officers held at an hotel situated in the city.
He said PSRP-II aims, among other things, at restructuring the functions of prisons in the country in order to forster in better treatment for both prisoners and the staff, including reduction to a greater extent, of congestion currently experienced.
He said the government would provide the prisons department with all requirements they need to enable the prisons to perform their duties well and in accordance with the law.
``I appeal to you to ensure that the reform to be made will not only really transform the functions of the prisons department, but also change the attitude and perception of its staff for them to adopt modern technology and, should not be left behind under any circumstances,`` he warned.
Masha warned those who cannot go with the intended restructuring to vacate their positions and pave way for those who are capable of accommodating the changes, calling on the meeting organisers to come up at the end of the day, with concrete recommendations to the government for necessary action and implementation.
He commended the force for its commitment to fight corruption among its ranks becoming one of the departments which have received a clean report.
Masha said remand homes and prisons in the country are extremely over congested as they are currently accommodating over twice as many inmates and prisoners beyond their capacity.
The minister said the latest information indicated there were 45,000 inmates in the country`s jails while the maximum capacity of the prisons stands at 27,653 prisoners.
``These figures are alarming, an urgent dire need arises to address the congestion issue of inmates in prisons,`` he said.
Speaking to reporters soon after the inaugural session, Augustino Nanyaro, the Principal Commissioner for Tanzania Prisons admitted that congestion in the prisons was critical.
He appealed to the public not to commit offences which would land them in court and eventually into prison.
The judiciary and police were doing a recommendable job in ensuring that cases were adjudicated quickly, he said.
He however said the ever rising wave of criminal offences was hindering efforts being made to reduce congestion as new inmates were being hauled into prisons daily.
``The wave of new inmates entering prisons every day is a stumbling block to efforts being made to reduce congestion,`` he said adding that unless more prisons were built in the districts where no prisons existed, the question of congestion would persist for decades to come,`` he said.
According to him, there are 39 districts in the country which have no prisons.
He called on the government to increase the force`s budget to enable it to implement its programmes efficiently, including the provision of better services and food for the inmates.
|
