Officials at the ZPCS Annual Service Day at Rimuka Stadium
BY NYARADZO CHITUNGO
The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) celebrated its Annual Service Day at Rimuka Stadium in Kadoma on September 26, with inmates taking center stage to showcase their artistic talents in music, dance, and crafts.
Guest of honour, Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Marian Chombo in a speech read on her behalf by Deputy for Infrastructure Development in her office, emphasised the need for collective action against drug and substance abuse.
“The scourge is destroying the youth, fuelling crime and straining correctional facilities.
“Drug abuse is not a merely individual weakness but a national crisis that robes us of our future.” she said.
Chombo called upon parents, teachers, churches, community leaders to unite against this menace.
She commended the progress made in rehabilitation efforts within correctional facilities.
“Prison farms are becoming more productive, vocational and life skills are expanding and inmates are now contributing to food security, local industry and community development.”
She noted that in line with the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and Vision 2030, the ZPCS has remained steadfast in aligning its programmes with national priorities.
“Here in Mashonaland West, ZPCS launched the Turnaround Strategy on May 15, 2023, under the stewardship of Commissioner General Dr M. C. N Chihobvu.
“This Strategy is not just a policy document, but a living commitment to revitalise corrections.”
She urged the inmates “to reform, to acquire skills, to rebuild your lives so that when you return to society, you do so as nation – builders.”
Chombo praised correctional officers for their dedication and acknowledged the challenges they face but emphasised their crucial role as “custodians of discipline and beacons of transformation.”
The commemorations which were running under the theme, “Evidence-Based Rehabilitation for Sustainable Reintegration”, were also attended by ZPCS Officer Commanding Mashonaland West, Commissioner Luke Makuvire, and senior officers from Inkomo Mechanised Brigade, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and Jason Moyo Airbase.
