WATCH: ‘ZPCS key to national security’

Nqobile Bhebhe, [email protected] 

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa urged the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) to adopt and implement technology to improve their operations. 

He said this during a passout parade of 1 620 recruits at the ZPCS Ntabazinduna Training School yesterday.

The President said as critical components of the national security sector and development agenda, ZPCS must embrace digital technology to foster modernisation, industrialisation, and efficient service delivery to promote sustainable economic growth. 

President Mnangagwa reaffirmed the Government’s dedication to supporting ZPCS in fulfilling its constitutional duty to rehabilitate inmates.

“The appropriate use of technology in the correctional domain can significantly enhance security efficiency, management and rehabilitation efforts. In this regard, as correctional officers, there is a need to adopt new technologies and the smart prison concept in the discharge of your duties” said President Mnangagwa.

He said modern data analysis techniques should be deployed in assessing the behaviours of inmates and risk levels.

“These and other innovations should inform the design of robust intervention strategies that are tailored to individual needs and current trends. However, it is crucial to implement these technologies ethically so that they effectively contribute to the overall goals of rehabilitation and public safety,” he said.

The Government is establishing a community information centre at the ZPCS Ntabazinduna Training School, which upon completion will be accessible to the local community.

President Mnangagwa said the centre is also part of efforts to accelerate digital transformation for economic growth and innovation in line with the philosophy of “leaving no one and no place behind”.

The President commended the training school for its ongoing efforts to support Government programmes promoting economic empowerment, particularly through projects that enhance productivity and production. 

He also acknowledged the school’s commendable promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship, which reduces reliance on fiscal support.

To this end, ZPCS has adopted a commercial business model to increase revenue and achieve self-sufficiency in line with the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1). This approach aligns with the organisation’s “smart prison concept”, which recognises its business-oriented and correctional focus.

ZPCS has already begun implementing income-generating projects in correctional and rehabilitation facilities across the country. A key project is the Anju Prison Farm in Matabeleland North, designed to empower inmates with life skills. The farm is one of 23 ZPCS farms producing food for inmates in various prisons nationwide. Its surplus produce is sold to generate income that supports day-to-day prison operations.

“As ZPCS, you are part of the security services and a vital cog in the national development agenda. You must, therefore, be on high alert and acquit yourselves well in executing your constitutional mandate,” said President Mnangagwa.

“Let us all live up to the national development philosophy of Nyika inovakwa, inotongwa, igonamatirwa nevene vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa, libuswe, likhulekelwe ngabanikazi balo.”