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{
    "id": 149245,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/149245/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 511,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Maj-Gen. Nkaisserry",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister, Ministry of State for Defence",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 192,
        "legal_name": "Joseph Kasaine Ole Nkaissery",
        "slug": "joseph-nkaissery"
    },
    "content": " Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this very important Report. First of all, I would like to commend the Committee for doing an excellent job by bringing this very important Report. However, if you look at the oversight responsibility of this Committee, you will find that it covers a very big area with regard to Government functions. This Committee plays an oversight role over the Office of the President, Ministry of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security, Ministry of State for Public Service and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Ministry of Local Government. Since the formation of this Committee, I am not very sure whether this is the first Report I have seen that is very detailed. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think the Committee has made important observations during its visits to prisons. I think the Government needs to look into these recommendations very carefully. It is important that a Prisons Service Commission is established to enable the Prisons Service to function well. I do not see in the Report where the Committee said it met the Prisons Service Board and it presented this and that information. I think it is important that this Committee goes back and makes some recommendations with regard to the Prisons Service Board. The Committee should recommend that if you want to appoint a Commissioner of Prisons, then the Prisons Service Board should shortlist the candidates for this Parliament to approve and the President to appoint. I think the Committee should have taken that approach. We should be systematic when making recommendations for the betterment of the services in this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Prisons’ land has been stolen - if I could use that very strong word - by people who had been entrusted to take care of the property. Since this is corruption, the Committee should have come up with strong recommendations and apportioned blame on whoever was in charge. The buck stops with the Minister who was in charge of the Prisons Department at that particular time. So, this Report leaves a lot to be desired. Since this is a Report of Parliament, as Parliamentarians we should eliminate corruption involving land and money. If you look at the kind of uniform that the Prisons Service officers put on today and where they live, you will realise that the Committee did not come out strongly and say that this Ministry has failed and the Government should allocate a lot of money to the Prisons Department in order to improve its services. They went to see prisoner A, B, D"
}