CLOSE to $60M will be spent to further rehabilitate and expand the Mazaruni Prison, while an additional $26.5M will be paid to a consultancy company for the design of the expansion of the prison.
Speaking at his weekly press briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency on Thursday, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said the contracts for the projects, were among a number of contracts approved by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) of which Government has taken note.
The rehabilitation and construction of living quarters at the Mazaruni Prison will be executed within two lots. The contract for the first lot, totalling $28.141M, will be executed by A. Nazier and Son Contracting.

R. Kissoon Contracting Service will execute the second lot to the tune of $30.447M. Meanwhile, a contract in the sum of $26.5M was awarded to Vikrab Guyana Limited for the provision of consultancy services for the design of the expansion of the Mazaruni Prison.
Minister Harmon explained that most of the works being executed are rehabilitative and will also include the fencing of the 20 acres of land on which the prison sits. The expansion, he said, will cater for the additional prisoners that would be brought from the Georgetown Prison to reduce overcrowding at that facility.

He said it is important for Government to provide suitable living conditions for prisoners.
“We are trying to make better accommodation for prisoners in keeping with the standards that are obtained all around the world…. Even though they are in prison, we still have to treat with them as proper human beings,” he told reporters.
Earlier this year, approximately $77M was approved for the construction of six living quarters at the Mazaruni Prison, along with prison blocks for inmates.
The contract which was allocated in two lots, saw one lot attracting $41,127,930. That contract was awarded to N&A Construction. The other lot has attracted $35,820,000, and awarded to A.A.V Raghubeer General Construction.

President David Granger, Minister of State Joseph Harmon and Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, had visited the prison last year, during which several issues were raised.
Chief among them was the need to construct more prison blocks to facilitate the transfer of prisoners from the Georgetown Prison in an effort to ease the overcrowding at the facility. Additionally, it was noted that the living quarters of prison officers were in a deplorable state and needed attention.

The State currently spends over $400,000 on one prisoner per year at the Camp Street penitentiary. Repeat offenders have increased over the years, this, was disclosed in the findings of a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Camp Street prison riot that claimed 17 lives following a fire on March 3, 2016.
Cabinet earlier this year had also agreed to the establishment of a Steering Committee for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-approved US$8 million Criminal Justice System Project.

This project is aimed at assisting Guyana to overcome prison overcrowding, by reducing pre-trial detentions and increasing the use of alternative sentencing, among other measures.
The committee will comprise representatives of the Ministry of Legal Affairs, the Supreme Court of Judicature, the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Ministry of Public Security, the Social Protection Ministry, and the Ministry of Finance.
It will provide oversight and strategic direction and recommendations, and ensure coordination of the programme of activities with those of the various Government offices that will be affected by its implementation.
The IDB website states that the loan objective is to contribute meaningfully to addressing the high concentration of the prison population in the country, which stands at 256 per 100,000 of the national population, well above the world average of 146 per 100,000.

“The Guyanese criminal justice system ‘tends to use incarceration as the default sanction. However, high rates of imprisonment have been associated with an individual’s future proclivity for crime and difficulties in securing employment, among other negative factors. Building or expanding prison facilities can be a short-term fix for overcrowding, but if root causes are not addressed, the new facilities will eventually be filled,” the IDB said.