Interior Minister Vows to Tackle Challenges Plaguing Prison Service

By Jenifer James

The Caretaker Interior Minister, Rizik Zachariah Hassan on Tuesday pledged to address challenges facing the country’s prison service, promising measures to improve its operations and working conditions.

He made the pledge on Tuesday during an inspection of the South Sudan National Prison Service.

According to Rizik, the inspection aimed at assessing the prison’s infrastructure, programmes, activities and challenges facing the center.

“We wanted to see your activities, infrastructure, and the challenges that you are having and how we can address them,” Rizik said.

Rizik said the inspection was intended to identify problems affecting the prison service and to find best ways to address them.

Rizik said the ministry would hold monthly meetings with senior prison officials to discuss strategic plans and administrative issues affecting the service.

He pledged to provide the necessary support to the prison service to improve its operation.

“It is our mandate to give you a salary and a uniform, among others. At this time, it is not you people who are supposed to complain about all these things. We are supposed to give them to you as priorities,” he said.

According to Rizik, the visits were aimed at gaining a better understanding of the conditions facing the services.

“I wanted to have a comprehensive report on the challenges and achievements that we have to submit to the President. It will not be beneficial for me to go and meet the President without anything,” Rizik said.

According to Rizik, the concerns raised during the inspection would be incorporated into the report to be submitted to the President Salva Kiir Mayardit.

For his part, Caretaker Deputy Minister of Interior, David Marial Gumke disclosed they are constructing a new prison facility to address overcrowding.

“We are constructing the facility for the prison services. If we manage to finish the construction, it will address the issue of overcrowding in prison,” Gumke said.

He said the ministry would work closely with the prison leadership to improve service delivery.

“We are going to work closely with the minister for better service delivery to the people,” he said.

Meanwhile, Director of Juba Prison Service Maj. Gen. Henry Kuany Aguar outlined inadequate funding as one of the major challenges facing the prison service.

“One of the biggest challenges is the budget. Out of the total budget of the prison service, the only money that we do get by then is the salary only,” Aguar said.

He appealed to the Interior Ministry to address the financial and other challenges affecting the prison service.