The Chronicle
Bongani Ndlovu, Chronicle Reporter
MS Belinda Sibanda (27) was two months pregnant when her husband, Mthelisi Sithole (30), was arrested and imprisoned for attempted murder last year.
That left her struggling to fend for their three children.
Ms Sibanda from the Makokoba suburb in Bulawayo now has a one-year four-month-old baby boy and she had been having a torrid time fending for her children with some at school.
Now, all that worry is gone as she was part of family members who benefitted from the Prisoner Employment Programme (PEP) run by the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services (ZPCS) and McDonald Bricks in Bulawayo.
Some of the 93 inmates from Anju Farm Prison in Matabeleland Morth, who are attached at McDonald Bricks on the outskirts of Bulawayo, yesterday handed over money amounting to ZW$50 000, groceries and cellphones to their relatives and families.
All the inmates are from Anju Farm Prison and they have been attached at McDonald Bricks since last year when the programme resumed. It started in 2017, but due to Covid-19 restrictions it was suspended in 2020.
The inmates with varying records such as assault and attempted murder, live at a satellite prison at McDonald Bricks while they work for their families as part of the PEP programme.
When Ms Sibanda was interviewed her face was filled with mixed emotions; happy to see her husband and the father of their children, and at the same time, she was relieved that perhaps the several months of hardships that she endured were over.
“Life has been tough for me and the children ever since he was imprisoned last year. I was just two months pregnant when he was imprisoned. Since that time, they even want to evict me from the house where we are living because I have been failing to pay rent. There is a child who’s learning and then I have to fend for my other children, pay fees and all,” said Ms Sibanda.
She said her heart was at rest and her worries about food and school fees were no longer there.
“Today I’m relieved as I know there’s money and food that I can use for the children.
“Today I’ll have a good night’s sleep because it has been hard finding food, but now I have some food such as cooking oil, sugar and the like,” said Ms Sibanda.
Ms Mavis Sibanda travelled from Fort Usher in the Matobo area to see her son, Mkhululi Ncube (28) who was incarcerated for assault last year.
She said she had no clue that her son had been working while incarcerated.
“I had been angry and pained in my heart because of his imprisonment. It deeply hurt me. But when I was called here, I’m happy as I see that my child is alive and making a living for us. When I was phoned by the ZPCS, I asked if anything was wrong and they assured me that all was well. I was surprised and all the anger and disappointment subsided,” said Ms Sibanda.
Another family from Nkayi, travelled to Bulawayo to receive the goods from their son Sydney Nkomazana (28) who is in prison for assault.
His mother Ms Sithelizwe Ncube said her son had left behind two children and a wife and it was hard to make ends meet for the family.
“I was at my ends as to how the children and wife he left behind would be raised and fed. God intervened because I had been praying for intervention from Him. When I came here, I was surprised that there were groceries from him and money so that I pay fees for his children and schools are opening next week,” said Ms Ncube.
Nkomazana said he was worried about how his family would fend for themselves following his incarceration.
He said the programme has given him assurance that he can work for his family and support them while in prison.
“Being in jail isn’t a pleasant thing and there is nothing glamorous about being here. But I look at it like this, for me being here has enabled me to be part of this programme that teaches me skills in brick making and also to fend for my family,” said Nkomazana who is left with three months to serve his sentence.
ZPCS Principal Rehabilitation Coordinator for Matabeleland North Province, Principal Correction Officer Shingirai Katswairo said:
“Currently we have 93 prisoners. This one here at McDonald Bricks is a satellite prison which falls under the Anju Farm Prison. We get inmates from the entire Matabeleland North province’s seven prisons and they come to Anju Farm Prison and they are handed over to this project,” said PCO Katswairo.
He said the inmates are paid by McDonald Bricks through the ZPCS which gets 60 percent and the inmates gets 40 percent.
“Since the inmates are under the care of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services, their work contract is signed between ZPCS and McDonald Bricks on their behalf. So, the inmate gets 40 percent, and the Government gets 60 percent in terms of payment for their labour,” said PCO Katswairo.
“The 40 percent that goes to the inmate, the accounting offices will have a breakdown of how an inmate has worked for such and such a period, and for so much. When we do these purchases, we go to our suppliers, and we request those items and which we buy according to how each inmate has worked and how they have contributed.”
PCO Katswairo said the inmates participate in the programme voluntarily.
McDonald Bricks General Manager Mr Tawanda Zigara described the inmates as hardworking and the company will be glad to absorb them when they complete their sentences.
“These men that we have been given are very hardworking. They meet their targets. The targets that we give them are a whole day’s job, but by 12PM or 1PM, they would have been done. We are also prepared to get them back when they complete their sentences,” said Mr Zigara.
ZPCS Officer Commanding Matabeleland North Province Commissioner Moddie Nkomo said the programme was in line with their mandate to rehabilitate inmates by equipping them with skills.
“This programme has managed to bridge the gap between inmates and their families while enabling them to provide basic needs as well. The ZPCS is open to all like-minded partners that wish to see success in the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders,” said Commissioner Nkomo.
She thanked McDonald Bricks for taking in the inmates and helping rehabilitate and reintegrate them into society.
Present at the handover were the inmates, and their families, alongside ZPCS officers such as Commissioner Nkomo, Deputy Director Human Capital Management Chief Superintendent Kuzivakwashe Mativenga, Officer in Charge of McDonald Satellite Correctional institution Principal Correctional Officer Butholezwe Moyo, Staff Officer Human Capital Chief Correctional Officer Tambudzai Zireva and Provincial Finance officer, Chief Correctional Officer Mgcineni Phiri. – Follow on Twitter @bonganinkunzi
Article Source: The Chronicle