President Peter Mutharika, Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Prisons Service (MPS), has said his government is aware of the challenges MPS is facing; hence, efforts are being made to address them.
Speaking at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre yesterday when he presided over a pass out parade of prison recruits and the award of medals to officers, Mutharika said government is aware of the high levels of overcrowding in prisons as well as the issue of dilapidated prison infrastructure.
“Government is aware of the problem of understaffing in the Malawi Prisons Service which has put the warder-to-prisoner ratio at around1:10 against the internationally recommended ratio of 1:5. This, therefore, is the main reason that the government has recruited and trained 730 prison warders that are graduating today. The trend will continue until we get closer to the recommended ratio as set out by the United Nations,” said Mutharika.
He told the warders that MPS has invested a lot in them; hence, it expects them to deliver.
Speaking earlier, Chief Commissioner of MPS Kennedy Nkhoma said this was the first time such a number of prison warders was passing out.
He told the recruits that the graduation marked their long journey to public service, therefore, perseverance should be their slogan as they start their career.
Minister of Internal Security and Home Affairs Paul Chibingu urged the recruits to use the skills attained during the six-month training to good use.
The ceremony, which was graced by some foreign dignitaries and government officials, was spiced up by some events, among them parades by the recruits.
