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Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter
DAVE Munos Foundation has donated a poultry farming project start-up kit to Mutare Remand Prison as part of complementing Government’s efforts of reducing the level of re-offenders by capacitating inmates with career life skills.
The donation of 100 chicks, 2x50kg bags of broiler starter, 6x50kg bags of broiler finisher, feeding troughs, infrared lights and various treatment packages for the chicks will go towards a pilot poultry project at the remand prison.
In an interview during the launch of poultry farming incubation and rehabilitation programme for inmates, Dave Munos Ambassador, Mr Ngoni Dapira, said the donation is meant to incubate poultry farming projects as career life-skills rehabilitation programmes in all prisons in Manicaland.
He said while re-offending is increasingly becoming a problem because of limited options of life-skills for inmates, the foundation saw it fit to equip inmates with poultry projects that will complement other rehabilitation programmes.
In 2020, seven inmates from Mutare Remand Prison were rearrested for similar offences within three months of their release after being pardoned through the Presidential amnesty.
“This project is aimed at giving inmates another chance after serving their sentences. We hope that incubating poultry farming programmes for inmates will be a starting point to pave way for more programmes,” he said.
Mr Dapira said the foundation embraces President Mnangagwa’s talk of privatising some public entities and entering into Public and Private Partnerships (PPPs) to cut fiscal expenditures.
“This is the new way of thinking that we want to build on where we are working together as the public and private sector. PPPs have emerged as an innovative way to pool resources from Governments and private companies to achieve development goals. We strongly feel that if well executed to the book with zero tolerance to corruption, this project will take inmates rehabilitation to the next level and reduce the current problems of re-offenders,” he said.
Thanking the foundation, Officer Commanding Manicaland, Commissioner Spetosomusa Moyo-Chinobva said it is encouraging to see indigenous youths embracing the spirit of giving, while referring to the founder of the Foundation, David Munowenyu, who was born and bred in Mutare and is an enterprising businessman now based in South Africa.
She said as the ZPCS, they are excited about the Dave Munos Foundation coming on board with innovative ideas.
“I am told they started running a chicken diet supplementary programme at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital in January 2021 and it was our chickens that were reared by our inmates at Mutare Remand Prison that they bought and donated to the hospital. Above all, thank you, Dave Munos Foundation,” she said.
Through the project, the proceeds from the chicken sales for the next four months will be channelled towards the next prison as capital for starting and incubating poultry farming there.
The beneficiary prison will do the same and channel funds for a project at the next prison in the province, until all prisons in Manicaland have sustainable poultry rehabilitation programmes running.
The foundation also donated 150 dressed chickens to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital as part of its usual chicken supplementary diet programme that has been running since January last year.
Another batch of 50 will be divided among Leratto Children’s Home in Weirmouth, Kudavana Children’s Home in Zimunya, Zororai Children’s Home in Sakubva, New Hope Old People’s Home in Honde Valley and Sister Albertina Centre in Sakubva. Each Centre will get 10 chickens.
Online Reporter