The National Prisons Service of South Sudan (NPSSS) inaugurated their new vocational training workshop, launched prison personnel ID cards, and released the first-ever Inmate Statistics Report Thursday at Juba Central Prison. The function was enthusiastically presided over by Hon Acting Minister of Interior and Wildlife Conservation General Achuil Tito Madut, NPSSS Director General Gen. Henry Aguar Kuany, UNDP Country Director Balázs Horváth, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources, development partners and senior officials from the prisons, police, organized forces and invited guests.

Vocational Training Workshop

The renovated, well-equipped Vocational Training Workshop will be utilized to train inmates in eight disciplines: carpentry, masonry, electrician, welding, vehicle mechanics, agriculture, hair dressing and tailoring. In the first batch, 134 (9 female) inmates will be trained across the eight trades, and 91 (21 female) prison staff will be trained as trainers. Vocational training for inmates aims to check recidivism by imparting technical skills to the inmates to enable them to earn their livelihoods and facilitate their rehabilitation in society when released.

The vocational training program is an innovative attempt to ensure sustainability and promote indigenous expertise. The project engaged the Ministry of General Education and Ministry of Labor to finalize the curriculum in-line with the approved curriculum being used in other technical schools in South Sudan. The line ministries also assisted in the selection of 16 trainers and two supervisors, making the entire staff South Sudanese citizens. Furthermore, NPSSS expects to market the products manufactured in the workshop to make the workshop self-sustainable.

“This is indeed a red letter day in the history of the NPSSS, of which the entire service can be justifiably proud,” said UNDP Country Director Balázs Horváth in remarks delivered at the launch. “UNDP is committed to supporting the implementation of the Peace Agreement signed in August 2015. Support to NPSSS will continue as envisaged in the Agreement under the overarching support to security sector reform.”

Prison Personnel ID Cards

“This exercise will help us determine the exact number of personnel on the rolls of the prisons and remove those whose details cannot be verified. This will also help in cleaning up the payrolls. I will recommend that henceforth personnel will need to produce their ID cards to receive their salary,” said Gen. Madut.

The prison personnel ID project was implemented in phases with support from UNDP and United Nations Police (UNPOL). Implementation of the project involved development of the database, establishment of 11 Personnel Registration Database Units at national and state levels, capacity development of staff, manual and computerized registration of all prison personnel, data validation and physical verification of the entire NPSSS rank and file. As part of the final phase of the project, ID cards are being issued to eligible prison personnel. UNDP has procured five ID card printing machines and accessories required to provide ID cards to all 18,000 prison personnel in South Sudan. 

“It is heartening to see that the entire exercise is being led and conducted by the NPSSS,” said Gen. Kuany.

Inmate Statistics Report for 2014 and 2015

The data compiled in the Inmates Statistics Report can be utilized for planning and resource allocation and, more significantly, to improve inmate care. NPSSS is responsible for approximately 6,500 inmates in prisons in South Sudan at any point in time.

“With support once again from our UNDP partners, NPSSS standardized the process of inmate statistics compilation and analysis. Not only were the forms reviewed and NPSSS personnel trained in utilizing IT equipment provided for this purpose by UNDP, the statistics are now published as annual reports,” said Gen. Kuany.

Support for improving living conditions in prisons, creation of facilities for juveniles and improving the Prison Academy was requested by NPSSS.

“On behalf of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan, I would like to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the Kingdom of Netherlands for their generous support to the prisons service,” said Gen. Madut.