Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee on Tuesday launched the Guyana Prison Agricultural Development Board as part of continuing efforts to make the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) more self-sufficient.
In his address at the ceremony, hosted at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Rohee said that the potential for agri-development within the prison system is tremendous and its achievement will make the GPS more self reliant. “Two of the advantages the system has at its disposal are the manpower and land, and in any type of large scale development the hands to do the work and the availability of land are the two most important factors,” he noted.
According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), the ministry also brought in several stakeholders such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food for the Poor and other entities on the project. The minister is also optimistic that the programme will significantly benefit the prisoners and the GPS officers.
He also said often the ministry had to “think outside of the box to find creative and innovative ways of moving the system forward.” Rohee noted that “with this in mind we drew up a business plan for GPS and not because the bill budgeted for dietary supplies for prison service was high, but a move to also keep inmates gainfully occupied.”
According to Rohee, the ministry has an open door policy and it welcomes persons interested in contributing to this or any other initiative it is undertaking. He also noted that over the years the government has focused on reforming prisoners through various training programmes so that they can make meaningful contributions when they re-enter society.
Permanent Secretary at the ministry Angela Johnson said that the plan was developed to ensure self sufficiency in the GPS to the extent that over time it would depend less on government for expenditure for the dietary supply for prisoners, which was billed at $195M for this year. Deputy Director of Prisons, Lt. Col Malcolm McAndrew also welcomed the ministry’s action in establishing the board and agri-business plan.
