[UAH] Zimbabwe: 18 Inmates Graduate in Tobacco Farming

Zimbabwe: 18 Inmates Graduate in Tobacco Farming

1 JULY 2013

ABOUT 18 prisoners graduated at Banket Semi Open Prison after completing a one-year tobacco farming course conducted by Tobacco Research Institute last Friday. Officer Commanding Mashonaland Region Senior Assistant Commissioner Wonder Chisora described the event as rare in the history of Zimbabwe before independence. Addressing hundreds of people gathered at the event Asst Comm Chisora said most people in prison were benefiting from rehabilitation programmes that were equipping them with life skills.

"Traditionally offenders were incarcerated as punishment but new approaches to prison management have revolutionised prisons to become learning institutions and correctional services," said Snr Asst Comm Chisora.

"Tobacco is one of the economic drivers hence the field needs people who are well educated. Tobacco demands highest attention hence it needs people with enough skills and knowledge."

Asst Comm Chisora added that the graduation was important to Zimbabwe Prison Services and the nation at large.

"We are looking forward to seeing great improvements in tobacco farms like Hurungwe Farm prison and other prisons in the region," he said.

Asst Comm Chisora told the congregation that he was also a tobacco farmer who graduated from Tobacco Research Institute.

"I sent 14 bales of tobacco yesterday, this is not a joke. My farm manager was an inmate who also graduated from this institute," he said.

The partnership between ZPS and Tobacco Research Institute started in 2008 and has seen 141 inmates graduating. Out of the 18, one inmate Innocent Murehwa was absent because he completed his sentence on June I.

Kutsaga Research Board head of services Mr Ezekia Svotwa described their alliance with ZPS as an important step in empowering inmates to survive after prison.

Mr Svotwa said the course included commercial tobacco seedling production, establishment and management of commercial crop, reaping, curing, grading and baling.

"This group have managed to construct a rocket barn which uses less firewood than the conventional barn.

"The graduands are now capable of becoming station managers or establishing their own tobacco farms," he said.

The course included theory, progress test and practical. Students are drawn from different prisons in the country and transferred to Banket Semi Open Prison for training. Sanyama Marshal was the best student followed by Evidence Chimatira and Stephen Chabvanya who scooped the second and third prizes respectively.

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Gwokto La'Kitgum