Prisons chief tips govt on savings

Malawi Prisons Service (MPS) says central government can save billions of kwacha by engaging prisoners in different projects and other income generating activities.

Speaking in an interview in Zomba on Wednesday, Chief Commissioner of Prisons  Kennedy Nkhoma said government is losing a lot of money as expenditure on services which can freely be offered by inmates in the country’s prisons.

He said his department has many prisoners talented in diverse skills such as carpentry, bricklaying, farming, mechanics and other areas from which government can economically benefit from and save expenses on labour.

Nkhoma said: “We have been seeing government making expenditures on issues such as furniture for its offices, food for hospitals, painting of its buildings and other services which may demand man power.”

He expressed optimism that his department could make over K15 billion annually and help government to save if it is given all the required resources to run some of the services.

Commenting on the idea, Ministry of Finance spokesperson Nations Msowoya welcomed the proposal as a good move which his ministry would consider.

Malawi has 28 prison establishments accommodating about 13 000 inmates jailed to be reformed so that they become useful citizens of the country upon expiry of their sentences. n