Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Manicaland Province has intensified efforts to expand correctional infrastructure to match the decentralisation of courts to district level, as the Judicial Service Commission rolls out magistrates’ courts across districts.
The development has necessitated the establishment of satellite prisons to support court operations. Currently, most facilities in Manicaland operate from Zimbabwe Republic Police and Judicial Service Commission premises while permanent structures are being developed.
In Murambinda, basic infrastructure for the satellite prison is nearing completion, with relocation from the police station imminent.
Attention has now turned to Nyanga, where Officer Commanding Manicaland, Commissioner Spetosomusa Chinobva, toured Mutasa and Nyanga alongside her delegation, including Assistant Commissioner George Mutimbanyoka and senior officers.
In Mutasa, a committee tasked with engaging the Rural District Council on land acquisition was given strict deadlines, with the Judicial Service Commission pledging support under the Whole of Government Approach.
Conditions in Nyanga remain strained, with one police cell housing 19 inmates against a capacity of 15. “We are using one cell allocated to us by the Police which accommodates 15 inmates. Today we have 19 inmates, both convicted and those on remand,” said Principal Correctional Officer Petros Chadyagondo.
Land has been secured in Nyanga, with existing structures requiring urgent rehabilitation. The ZPCS Infrastructure Planning and Development unit has been directed to urgently produce quotations for phase one works, including cells, ablution facilities, offices and staff accommodation.
Meanwhile, ZPCS has begun utilising part of the 20-hectare site, with maize planted on 2.5 hectares expected to yield a good harvest.
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