CABINET last Tuesday granted its no-objection to a contract worth more than $78M that would see the progression of works on the Lusignan Prison, East Coast Demerara. 

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon made the announcement at this week’s post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the President, in Georgetown.
According to him, phase two of the construction of the prison, which is specifically for the Trade Shop, is at a cost of $26.2M, while Phase Three construction is at a cost of $52.8M.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs is working to overhaul the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) as an institution, moving it away from one that focuses solely on incarceration to one with a correctional purpose.
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee had said the Lusignan Prison in particular would be transformed into a modern facility and that this strategic plan has already been completed and sanctioned by the Cabinet.
The Ministry is presently looking to fill vacancies for the impending establishment of the Strategic Management Department. These include a person to head the department, a policy analyst, and two technical officers — one to deal with prison management and the other for planning and research and resource mobilisation.
This notwithstanding, work has already began on modernising the GPS as a whole. A Standing Orders Committee has been established to compile standing orders for the institution and various boards, all of which include civilians.
These Boards are: the Guyana Prison Service Recruitment Board, Guyana Prison Service Training Board, Guyana Prison Service Agricultural Development Board, and the Guyana Prison Service Sentence Management Board.
Last year, out of its $129M capital works budgetary allocation, the Guyana Prison Service spent $122M on improving infrastructure, including construction of the brick prison at Camp Street; phase two construction of the Lusignan Prison, phase one rehabilitation of trade shops and procurement of cell locks.
These projects are all intended to provide a more secure environment for both prison officers and inmates.

(Telesha Ramnarine)