Online Reporter
Patrick Chitumba [email protected]
THE Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Owen Ncube, has donated food, cement and other essential items to inmates at Kwekwe Prison.
The handover ceremony took place on Tuesday at the prison complex in Kwekwe.
Minister Ncube described the occasion as one laden with purpose, saying the donated goods symbolised care, hope and rehabilitation for inmates.
“It is indeed with a deep sense of compassion that I address you today on this charitable occasion of the handover of mealie meal, rice, sugar, cooking oil, salt, green bar soap, tea leaves, tissues, Vaseline, bins, hard brooms, chunks and 20 bags of cement to Kwekwe Prison,” he said.
Minister Ncube said the donation was not an act of random charity but was funded through proceeds from the successful 2026 Midlands Provincial Independence Ball held at the King Solomon Hotel in Kwekwe District.
“A night of music and celebration has been turned into morning bread and cement for the inmates and prison officers,” he said.
The Minister said the gesture has become an annual event that extends support to vulnerable communities across Midlands Province as part of efforts to strengthen the comprehensive social safety nets provided by the Second Republic under the mantra of leaving no one and no place behind.
“In this regard, I commend the Second Republic, under the able and visionary leadership of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Dr E D Mnangagwa, for enacting the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service Act No 9 of 2023 [Chapter 7:21],” he said.
Minister Ncube said the Act aligns the country’s prison laws with the 2013 Constitution and formally shifts the focus of the prison system from punishment to rehabilitation, human dignity and the successful reintegration of offenders into society.
“In view of the foregoing, the Midlands Province extends its profound appreciation to the New Dispensation for introducing key legal provisions that attest to the tenets of our National Vision 2030,” he said.
The Minister also paid tribute to the philanthropic work of the Health, Wildlife and Tourism Ambassador, the Champion of Gastronomy in Africa and Zimbabwe’s Cultural Ambassador, First Lady Dr Auxilia Mnangagwa.
“Her compassionate, consistent and unwavering support for inmates, the elderly, widows, orphaned and vulnerable children, as well as people with disabilities and other previously marginalised communities across the country, is unparalleled and commendable,” he said.
