The Department's Overview
Introduction
Challenges
S.W.O.T.
Introduction
The Department of Prisons is under the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security. Its
primary Function is to “House, Detain and Rehabilitate prisoners committed
to Prisons”. And to Control Prisons and Manage ‘such Institutions' and Matters related
thereto.
Thus the Department is responsible for Provision for Correctional Services
and Safeguarding of persons who have been convicted by Court of Law and those
under Remand. This entails having capacity to effectively and efficiently
discharge the said responsibility.
However, the Department is striving to achieve the said Goals in a
tempestuous atmosphere, where funds are hard to comeby and
Crime and convictions are Rampant and escalating alarmingly by the day.
Hence the limited Financial and Material resources, coupled by inadequate Human Capacities are having a
horrendous impact on the efforts by the Department to fulfill its mandate.
In addition, other challenges have emerged with the Democratization process
that calls for more participation of Stakeholders in the affairs of prisons, Accountability and
Transparency. At the Global Level, Developments in the areas of Human Rights,
Gender and others have entailed significant changes on the way Prison Services
are provided in Malawi. It is no longer an in-house issue. These various
challenges require timely responses and pro-activity. This has prompted the department to develop a Strategic Plan, which in many respects,
seeks to promote sound management and address some of the above problems.
We are convinced that as Department we can not simply wait to react to the
events and circumstances as they arise, as doing so is tantamount to commit suicide; not
only in terms of the survival of the Department but also in terms of
socio-economic and political development of our nation.
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Challenges
The Department, as reiterated above, is faced with various Herculean obstacles; hence
fall short of providing the level of Service that is satisfactory and
acceptable to our Stakeholders. The hurdles are created by the following
varying factors:
i ) Increasing number of inmates
Perhaps the single most challenge remain the rapidly increasing number of
inmates in our prisons. This has been due to a number of factors,
which include rising crime rate due to poverty and deterioration in ethical
standards and values, inadequate prison space and other related infrastructure. This
has further been complicated by shortage of staff and other resources.
It is therefore not uncommon to see outbreak of diseases in our cells as well
as shortage of food, which often led to unrest in prisons by the offenders.
Our desire therefore is to drastically reduce the number of inmates in our
prison cells as well as ensuring safe prison environment for rehabilitation
and reformation
ii) Leadership and Management Practices:
It is rather lugubrious to note that the Human Resource Development in Prisons
was underrated previously. There is need to build the managerial capacity
to greater heights.
It goes without saying that with the advent of Democracy in Malawi, the role
of prisons is evidently not punitive but correctional one. Hence, the role of prisons officers today is more challenging
unlike in the past days where the role of a prison officer was mainly 'turn-key'. In view of the foregoing it is imperative to
provide the prison staff with the appropriate correctional and managerial skills in order to have the capacity
to rehabilitate inmates and to efficiently manage the prisons as a correctional service.
iii) Low productivity
Increasingly, the level employees' performance has been declining over the
past years mainly due to a combination of factors including:
-
Lack of
appropriate skills coupled with severe shortage of staff at various level.
-
Declining work ethics within the public sector.
-
Inadequate resources to support service delivery.
-
Absence of work plans to support priority areas and effective resource utilization.
Yet if the Department is to realize its mandate and vision, it has to ensure
and sustain the existence of a productive workforce. This is particularly with
regard to taking advantage of new opportunities and areas of strength.
v) Declining Financial Resources:
While the Department has continued to receive monthly financial allocations
from Treasury for its operations and personal emoluments, the amounts received
is not sufficient enough to sustain the volume of core business
with regard to number of inmates, which has increased; and there is also a general expectation
that under the new democratic era in Malawi, Prison Conditions and standards
should be consistent with constitutional provisions and the rule of law.
Apparently the financial pressure on the Department is compounded by the
international ever dwindling financial support for such institutions. Every
where prisons is a relegate when it comes to funding. This is also true here at
home.
However there is need for financial sympathy to the department if it is to take
off economically in order to achieve some self sufficiency ie. through farming
activities and creation of various workshops, which not only act as
rehabilitation instruments but also as income generating activities.
If prisons can harness its abundant labour force spiced with appropriate
funding and man power skills, it can become an economic giant to recon with
and act as a reprieve to the burden that it puts on the tax payers money to
feed prisoners.
v) Deterioration of state of infrastructure and equipment e.t.c.
The state of many prison building and housing accommodation as well as
equipment and vehicles leaves much to be desired. The current poor state of
these facilities have contributed very much to weak security arrangements that
have seen inmates run out of the prison compounds as well as contribute to
poor sanitation and related outbreak of sickness and diseases.
As part of the global community, Malawi has to improve its image and prison
conditions. It is to realize its rehabilitation and reformation programmes.
Obviously, this calls for an informed capacity building programme in terms of
renovating current infrastructure and embarking on new projects
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Strategic Analysis
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats -[SWOT])
Having
undertaken a strategic analysis of our performance, based on the SWOT
analysis, we are convinced that our strengths and opportunities inform in
every way our inspiration and motivation to overcome our weaknesses and
threats that have in the past severely affected our image and delivery of
services. In this respect, we have taken stock of our key strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats as under-listed.
Strengths
1.
Availability of trained and disciplined staff.
2. Teamwork and cooperation
3. Willingness and commitment to change or adopt new ideas and practices
4. Clear legal mandate from the Constitution of Malawi and Act of Parliament.
5. Income generating activities
6. Availability of programme of action for development projects or
construction.
7. Functional Review Report with appropriate structural recommendations.
8. Availability of rules and regulations for correctional service management.
9. Existence of Training Institution (Prison Training School).
Weaknesses
-
High staff turnover/shortage of technical staff.
-
Poor staff attitude to work
-
Inadequate incentive and unconducive work environment.
Opportunities
-
Government
reform programmes
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Donor sympathy and
support for Prisons Services including human rights.
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Media publicity.
-
Association with both
local and International NGOs and Churches.
-
Technological advances.
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Regional groups with
emphasis on harmonisation
-
On-going law reform
programme.
-
Steady monthly
allocations for personnel emoluments and operations by the Treasury.
Threats
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