Be professional, prison officers urged

Victor Maphosa Mashonaland East Correspondent
The integrity, dedication and professionalism of Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) officers makes them one of the leading correctional service providers in the region and beyond, ZPCS Deputy Commissioner-General Agrey Huggins Machingauta has said.

He made the remarks while addressing 33 Grade 3 correctional officers who graduated in a supervisory course in Marondera yesterday.

Deputy Comm-Gen Machingauta said prison officers should be professional in executing their duties to make the organisation a success.

“The supervisory course that you have undertaken and successfully completed speaks volumes of your importance and roles attached thereto,” he said.

Human dignity

“You are expected to exhibit possession of fundamental and operational knowledge, skills and attributes required to enable you to execute your supervisory roles in our correctional institutions.”

Correctional officers, he said, must treat inmates fairly and with respect and human dignity.

“The successful rehabilitation of offenders depends on the ability of our officers to deliver in accordance with the internationally recommended best practices,” said Deputy Comm-Gen Machi- ngauta.

Excellence

“Therefore, I call upon you to be advocates of humane treatment of offenders; thus, spreading the gospel of human rights in all our correctional facilities.”

Deputy Comm-Gen Machingauta said the officer’s responsibility had a direct bearing on service delivery.

“As management, we expect excellence in every task that you will carry out, thus, you need to note that the decisions that you make from today will determine the direction of ZPCS,’ he said.

“I am confident that what you have learnt has equipped you to perform your duties as correctional supervisors diligently. I urge you to be resilient and committed to your duties as this will attract rewards for you in future.

“Further to that, I also reiterate that you should continue developing yourselves academically and profes- sionally.”