Vice President and Mini-ster of State Khemraj Ramjattan recently visited the Camp Street prison and engaged inmates after recent “gang fights” with a promise to start the process of speedy trials and to address the issue of overcrowding.
According to a press release from the Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA), the Minister’s visit came in the wake of a recent outbreak of “gang fights” which resulted in the hospitalisation of one inmate.
Many of the inmates were on remand for several years awaiting their trials and to which Ramjattan said, “I will keep my promise to them to have the courts give some early trials to them or at least start the process, they are comforted by that and will not be so explosive…they promised to keep their part of the deal and wait for the early trial.”
Overcrowding remains an issue and according to the 2011 statistics which were featured in the United States Department of State’s 2014 Report on Human Rights in Guyana and other countries, Guyana has in its five-facility prison system 1,962 inmates which were originally built to accommodate 1,580. Among those, 900 were held in the Camp Street prison which was only built to accommodate 775.
Currently, Ramjattan said efforts are being made to occupy a brand new brick structure built within the prison compound to accommodate 160 prisoners.
It is expected, Ramjattan said, after the transfer of those prisoners to the brick structure, rehabilitation works valued at approximately $150M will commence on the older structure with alternate plans for relocation in the long term.
“Of course I would have to get Cabinet’s approval,” Ramjattan said, “and the Cabinet’s paper is now being prepared to get the approval for the reconstruction of that area that was very dilapidated.”
As it related to skills training for the incarcerated, the Minister said several such projects are ongoing as prisoners are engaged in carpentry, masonry and electrical installation among other programmes.
