Prisons projects valued at Rwf3bn

Income-generating projects run by the Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS), over the last five months, are valued at Rwf 3 billion, Paul Rwarakabije, the Commissioner General of RCS announced yesterday. He was speaking at the Ministry of Internal Security’s ‘Public Accountability Day’ at Petit Stadium in Remera, Kigali. The funds include the activities carried out by inmates who are serving their sentences under the Works for General Interest (TIG) programmes, which was, last July, merged with the National Prisons Service to form RCS. The projects include agricultural, art-craft and tailoring activities. Currently, there are 58, 381 inmates in the 13 prisons countrywide, 68 percent of whom are hjeld on genocide related cases, Rwarakabije said. There are also 11, 612 inmates serving in 42 TIG camps across the country. He RCS boss also noted that the agency intends to reduce the number of prisons to nine as envisaged in the Vision 2020 programme. Deputy Inspector General of Police, Stanley Nsabimana, told members of the public that, among other things, the force established the National Police Academy (NPA) in Musanze. Currently, the academy offers Bachelor’s degree in social sciences in Professional Police Studies (PPS) programme, while the National University of Rwanda (NUR) and Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) are set to open there faculties of law and ICT, respectively. He also said that the police force introduced a gender desk as well as online driving licence registration system. Celestin Twahirwa, the traffic police chief, said that Rwandans holding driving licences from other countries can be given the Rwandan permits if they have not exceeded one year in Rwanda, and if they provided evidence that they were living in that country where the licence was issued. Members of the public called for tougher measures against drug and alcohol abuse, especially among the youth. They observed that drugs abuse and consumption of illicit brew is one of the major crimes that need immediate attention by the law enforcers. Drug abuse related crimes, which reduced by 20 percent last year, have topped the crime list in the last three years. Over 2, 700 cases of illicit drug trafficking and abuse were registered last year, with over 2000 arrested for either trading or consuming illicit drugs. Over 2000 kilogrammes of cannabis and 7000 litres of illicit brew were also confiscated and destroyed last year. The Minister of Internal Security, Fazil Musa Harelimana, appealed to the public to join hands with security organs to prevent and fight crime. bosco.asiimwe@newtimes.co.rw