12 homes for Mazaruni prison officers completed

Feb 22, 2018 News

An aerial view of the houses being constructed at the Mazaruni Prison.

Director (ag) of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels, has disclosed that 12 of the living quarters earmarked for prison staffers at the Mazaruni Prisons have been completed and a further eight are set for completion this year.
“Twelve houses were constructed last year and an additional eight will be constructed in 2018. Last weekend, the advertisement went out for the first four of the eight houses. The tenders are supposed to be open this week so more than likely the contract would be awarded soon.”
In an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Samuels noted that along with the completed 12 houses, the installation of its new generator in 2017 and prospective solar panels in 2018, the Guyana Prison Service (GPS), also plans to increase the number of hours during which electricity is provided on the island facility.
This, Samuels said, will not only make the officers’ stay a more comfortable one, but will also aid its electronic surveillance security system and increase the opportunities for its skills training programme.
“It will increase our ability to be able to offer skill training to prisoners because most skill training requires power tools. It restricts the capacity of the prison to offer training in carpentry and other such areas that would require the use of power tools when power is not adequately available.
We are also looking at the installation of solar panels which will complement the generators especially for our CCTV expansion that will be part of our 2018 project as well.”
According to Samuels, these upgrades are in keeping with the budget request of the GPS and the recommendations from the Commission of Inquiry (CoI).
The state-run prisons in recent years have been taking a beating. From escapes to two fires, one of which left several inmates dead, the administration has fast-tracked moves for reforms.
A fire last July at Camp Street levelled several buildings at the facilities, forcing relocation, and early releases and bail for remand prisoners.

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