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{
    "id": 593402,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/593402/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 388,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Adan",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13125,
        "legal_name": "Dullo Fatuma Adan",
        "slug": "dullo-fatuma-adan"
    },
    "content": "Thank you Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I wish to take this opportunity to thank Members who have contributed to this particular Motion. Let me say that this Motion is long overdue. I remember one time I went to Ghana for a prisons conference when I was with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. One of the presenters was a former Minister for Home Affairs who worked under the prisons department when he was in the office. After he retired, he ended up in prison, and he actually said that he wished he knew that he was going to end up in prison, he would have reformed prisons. So, this clearly shows that for those of us who are leaders, it is important to look at all these institutions and really think about them in future because we are also prone to getting into trouble and ending up in those areas. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, a lot has been said and I am sure this is an area that we critically need to look into. One of the things that we need to look at as a Committee is budgetary allocation. This is where the constraint is. The money allocated is not enough to run those institutions, and again the issues of pending bills that are too much. So, we really need to see how we can be able to increase the budgetary allocation to be able to reform this institution. Again, minor offences where people end up in prison instead of going under community service order, because there are several places where these prisoners can be given a better place where they can be able to operate. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the welfare of staff is very critical because that is why we are having the problem of contrabands in prisons, where the officers are colluding with inmates to bring in contrabands. Congestion is a big problem. Again, I have also visited Norway. The experience in Norway is that, because of the family unity and relationship, towards the end of their term of sentence, they are normally given leave, of course, they have better technology but they are given leave where they can go and stay with their families for a certain time so that that link of the family is not disconnected. I think those are the things that may be, internationally, we need to borrow. If the budget allows, it is good to have an experience of an international correctional services and see how we can be able to borrow some of the experiences from there to our country. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, with regard to issues of policy, I remember there was a policy sometimes back where Government institutions could buy furniture and other things from the prisons department. Of late, county governments have been buying furniture from private investors. So, it is important to come up with a policy where furniture from prisons can be bought by Government institutions so that the same money can be ploughed back to the Exchequer. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}