Newly accredited Deputy British High Commissioner, Judy Kpogho recently visited the Mazaruni Prison and was reported as being pleased with the modern correctional facilities in place as well as the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) reintegration programme.
“I am totally impressed with this facility, it will definitely improve overall security amongst prisoners and officers. You have to create a good living condition for prisoners and at the same time enable them to learn skills that would help them once they have completed their terms,” the GPS quoted Kpogho as saying.
According to a release from the GPS, Kpogho was also encouraged by the comprehensive suite of programmes offered for the rehabilitation of inmates.
“The inmates who have found themselves on the wrong side of the law, we want to make sure that we give them an opportunity to learn from whatever wrongs they may have done, so I was very impressed with the work I saw to help prisoners to prepare for life back in the community. The staff and the prisoners themselves demonstrated their dedication and commitment to improve inmates’ chances of leading a positive and fulfilling life when they leave custody,” she said.
Over the years, the GPS said it has focused on programmes such as education, vocational training, life skills as well as the overall mental and therapeutic development of the inmates.
Kpogho was accompanied to the Region Seven prison by Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack; Deputy Director of Prisons, Kevin Pilgrim; Regional Commander, Dion Moore along with officials from the Guyana Prison Service and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Mazaruni Prison was expanded at a cost of $4 billion in an effort to address the issue of overcrowding of prisons across the country.
According to the GPS, Phase One of the expansion has since been completed. The new wing is expected to be operational soon and will accommodate 220 prisoners.
Work on Phase 2 of the facility has commenced while the Mazaruni Estate was improved by a much-needed road network that links each of the sections of the vast prison estate.
A purification system that is required to supply water to the Phase 1 and 2 wings was also erected, the GPS said.
