The Department’s Overview
·
Introduction
·
Challenges
·
S.W.O.T.
Introduction
Prison is under Home Affairs as stated above. Its primary Function is to “House,
Detain and Rehabilitate prisoners committed to Prisons”.
Secondly to Control Prisons and Manage ‘such Institutions and Matters related
thereto.
Therefore the Department is responsible for Provision for Correction 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 trying to achieve the said Goals in a Socio-economic
tempestuous atmosphere, where funds and hard to come by and Crime is Rampant and
escalating alarmingly by the day.
Hence limited Financial, Material and Human Resources are having a retrogressive impact on
the efforts by the Department to fulfill its mandate. Despite the said odds, the
Department has come with a Strategic Plan to surmount such challenges and hurdles.
In addition, other challenges have emerged with the Democratization process that calls for
more participation of Stakeholders, 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, which in many
respects, this Strategic Plan seeks to promote and address.
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 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
Challenges
The
Department so far as reiterated above has faced 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
Correctional Service. This has been due to a number of factors, which include rising crime
rate due to poverty and deterioration in ethical standards and values, lack of bed 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 not that the Human Resource Development in Prisons was
underrated previously. The current management
though it has extensive experience, it is greatly felt there is need to build the
managerial capacity to greater heights.
It
goes without saying that with the advent of Democracy dispensation the role of prisons is
evidently not punitive but correct ional. Hence
it is apparent that the role of prisons officers today is more challenging due to the
sophistication of inmates. In view of the
foregoing it is imperative to sharpen the appropriate managerial skills in order to have
the capacity not only to rehabilitate but even to outwit the inmates.
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.
* Declining 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.
iv)
Declining
Financial Resources:
While the Department has continued to receive monthly financial allocations from Treasury
for its operations and personal emoluments, the amounts received have over the years
significantly declined. Yet the volume of core business with regard to inmates 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 at home.
However there is need for financial sympathy to the
department if t 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
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
Academy).
Weaknesses
- High staff turnover/shortage of technical staff.
- Absence of criteria for financial allocation.
- Lack of clear vision or direction.
- Weak institutional capacity, coordination and monitoring.
- Weak public relations Management.
- poor management practices including indeciveness and
procrastination.
- Poor staff attitude to work
- Inadequate incentive and unconducive work environment.
- Absence of work plans
Opportunities
- Government reform programmes
- Donor sympathy and support for Prisons Services including
human rights.
- Media publicity.
- Association with both local and International NGOs and
Churches.
- Technological advances.
- Regional groups with emphasis on harmonisation
- On-going law reform programme.
- Steady monthly allocations for personnel emoluments and
operations by the Treasury.
Threats
- Poverty and declining social values.
- Negative publicity and ignorance by the public and inmates
on Prison Services.
- HIV/Aids pandemic and other deadly diseases.
- Drought/Excessive rains which affect farm produce.
- Inflation/slow economic growth.
- Privatisation, which may lead to job losses.
- High Court trial delays
- Declining external financial allocations.
- International
terrorism.
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