Victoria Falls: The Standing Committee on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (TIFI) of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum urged the promotion of budgetary transparency, improvements to prison infrastructure, and ensuring access to adequate medical care for prisoners. This call was made at the 57th Plenary Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF), held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the report was presented by the Chair of the committee, Angolan MP Ruth Mendes. It encourages parliaments to intensively monitor investments in prison infrastructure, especially in scenarios involving public-private partnerships and where the private sector manages prison establishments.
The commission highlighted that prison supervision is closely linked to good financial management. Effective management of prisons requires rational supervision of public resources, which in turn ensures good infrastructure and adequate medical care for inmates.
The Committee further urged Member States to ensure adequate budgeting for prisons, promoting alternative approaches to incarceration like fines and diversion programs. These alternatives have the potential to lower incarceration rates and free up resources.
It emphasized the need for national parliaments to prioritize resources for alternatives, reintegration, and rehabilitation programs for prisoners, as these measures can help reduce recidivism. Allocations for early crime prevention strategies, particularly among young people, were also recommended.
Moreover, the Committee called on civil society organizations to collaborate with parliaments to enhance their capacity to monitor budget implementation strategies in prisons and to oversee investments in prison infrastructure effectively.
Data presented by the commission revealed that the prison population across all SADC Member States is approximately 400,000, with the majority of inmates located in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Angola is participating in the 57th Plenary Session of the SADC-PF with a delegation led by the National Assembly Speaker, Carolina Cerqueira, and including MPs Ruth Mendes, Teresa Neto, Lusa Damio, Pedro Sebastio, and Diamantino Mussokola.