The inaugural meeting of the EAC Heads of Prisons/Correctional Services ended today at the Naura Springs Hotel in Arusha, Tanzania. The inaugural meeting was attended by Mr. Augustino N. Nanyaro, the Principal Commissioner of Prisons, Tanzania Prisons Services; Ms. Mary Gahonzire, Commissioner General, Rwanda’s National Prisons Services; Mr. Deogratias Suzuguye, the Director General Penitentiary Administration Burundi; Dr. Johnson O. R. Byabashaija, Commissioner General of Uganda Prisons Service; and Mr. Isaiah M. Osugo, Kenya’s Commissioner of Prisons.
Also present were the EAC Deputy Secretary General (Political Federation), Hon. Beatrice Kiraso, senior officers from the EAC Secretariat and other senior staff from the Prisons/Correctional Services from the Partner States.
Welcoming delegates to Arusha, the Deputy Secretary General, Hon. Beatrice Kiraso commended the Prisons/Correctional Services Department for the positive contributions they render to the societies they serve, remarking that in addition to the custodial duties, Prison Services have the responsibility to build up and maintain close relationships with those in their charge, adding that ?this was a complex challenge, balancing authority with a large amount of understanding and compassion?.
She informed the delegates that in the context of the EAC integration, previously all issues pertaining to Inter State Security were handled by the Defence sector. However, borne of the realisation that there were security issues that do not lie under the Defence portfolio the Council of Ministers’ moved to form the Sectoral Council on Inter State Security to handle the wider issues of security.
The Heads of Prisons/Correctional services commended the EAC Secretariat for convening the meeting and for recognising Prisons Services as an important institution in the EAC integration process and were agreed that the forum would greatly enhance opportunities for exchange of information, experience, training and knowledge transfer among themselves and the EAC Secretariat.
The meeting identified seven broad areas for cooperation, namely;
1. Governance and management framework, which is to entail the establishment of common standards on the governance and management of the Services, in view of regional and global mandates pertaining to Correctional Services and the dictates of the EAC regional environment;
2. Technical Cooperation involving identification of common operational matters that would need the establishment of frameworks, approaches and methodologies for joint action, particularly in the current penal reform agenda;
3. Human Resource Development (HRD) with the objective to establish standards for HRD within the Services;
4. Education and Training i.e. developing training programmes for Correctional personnel to build the overall management capabilities within the Prisons/Corrections terrain;
5. Research and Data Collection i.e. facilitating cross regional information exchange and the enhancement of regional standards, policies and practices within the sector through research and the collation of data on prison population, facilities, financial resources and personnel;
6. Learning and Knowledge Exchange by identifying and collating best practice experiences for sharing; and lastly
7. Confidence building measures: The historical perspectives of the first East African Community and the negative consequences that later followed after its break up make confidence building a necessity in the processes of the EAC integration with its ultimate goal of Political Federation.
The meeting recommended that an experts working group meeting be held to work out an elaborate and detailed plan of action for implementation of the identified areas of cooperation within the next two months.
The meeting also recommended that a Prisons/Corrections Sectoral Liaison Office be established at the Secretariat to coordinate the activities of the Prisons/Correctional Services; and that Prisons/Correctional Services be provided for when amending the EAC Treaty.
The delegates noted that compared to other agencies under the Inter State Security Sector, Prisons Services were behind schedule in the EAC integration process and urged the Secretariat to organise more frequent engagements.
Hon. Kiraso invited the Heads of Prisons to attend the Sectoral Council on Inter State Security scheduled for 13-16 April 2010 in Bujumbura, Burundi that will culminate in the destruction of Small Arms and Light weapons as a symbol of African Union Year of Peace 2010.
Source: East African Community (EAC)
