Staff Reporter
Newly appointed Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) commissioners have been challenged to spearhead a transformative agenda, shifting the country's penal system from punitive confinement to rehabilitation and skills development.
The seven-member commission, sworn in recently by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, began a two-day induction workshop in Harare where Public Service Commission chairman, Dr Vincent Hungwe, charged them with delivering "smart prisons" that restore human dignity while contributing to national development.
"You hold more than just the keys to confinement, you hold the keys to transformation, redemption and productivity. Your leadership must turn fences into pathways and cells into classrooms, fields and workshops of renewal," Dr. Hungwe told the commissioners.
The induction brought together senior Government officials including ZPCS Commissioner-General Dr. Moses Chihobvu, Public Service Commission secretary Mrs Sibusisiwe Zembe, and Justice Ministry representative, Mr Alex Majongwe.
The new commissioners, who include Utoile Silaigwana, Simon Madzimure, Rosemary Nyamweda Kanonge, Chipo Mandela, Albert Mandinika and Sternly Kondongwe, were appointed through Constitutional Amendment No. 2, which established standalone commissions for security services.
Dr. Hungwe emphasised their mandate to implement restorative justice approaches aligned with constitutional provisions on prisoner welfare.
As part of their orientation, the team will conduct nationwide inspections of correctional facilities to assess operational challenges and inform policy reforms.
"This induction clarifies your constitutional mandate and the expectations of leading Africa's first correctional service to transition from being prison guards to rehabilitation officers,” Hungwe said.
The commissioners take office as Zimbabwe's penal system faces overcrowding, with the current inmate population exceeding designed capacity by over 40 percent according to recent parliamentary reports.
Correctional Services Commissioner-General Chihobvu said the new leadership would prioritise modernising prison infrastructure and expanding skills development initiatives.
"We are moving towards establishing smart prisons that use technology to enhance security while creating conducive rehabilitation environments," he noted.
Justice Ministry officials present at the induction pledged support for proposed legal reforms to strengthen the commission's oversight role.
The commissioners are expected to present their strategic roadmap within 60 days of assuming office.
Penal reform advocates have welcomed the appointments but cautioned that meaningful transformation will require substantial budget increases and inter-ministerial cooperation to address systemic challenges in Zimbabwe's correctional system.
