Commissioner General of the Malawi Prison Service, Masauko Wiscot, has admitted that in 2024, they have faced recurrent challenges including over-crowding, leading to difficulties in the provision of good health services, safe custody and adequate food ration.
Wiscot said this on Friday at the prison service’s Christmas Ball and end-of-year party at the Natural Resources College in Lilongwe.
He also decried poor and dilapidated infrastructure and inadequate operational vehicles, which he says, affect the implementation of reformation and rehabilitation programmes in the holding facilities.
However, he said the government is trying to address the challenges through considerable allocation of financial resources.
The Commissioner General also said the Department has constructed a modern electricity kitchen at Kachere Female Prison in Lilongwe and sewer ponds at Mpyupyu Prison in Zomba which is at an 80% completion rate.
Wiscot further says with support from the European Union, there will be the construction of a new prison in Monkey Bay, Mangochi with land acquisition processes already underway.
