By Jimmy Muhumuza,
Parliament.
Uganda prisons Service is seeking a supplementary budget of 11.7 billion shillings to purchase prisoner’s beddings and fulfill contractual obligations on the construction and equipment of the Kitalya mini-max prison.
The supplementary request has been presented by the minister of internal affairs Kahinda Otafire accompanied by the Commissioner-General of prisons Johnson Byabashaija before the budget committee chaired by the Kachumbala county mp Patrick Isiaghi Opolot.
The accounting officer for prisons, Samuel Emiku says that of the requested figure 3.4 billion is going to fulfill outstanding contractual obligations to construct the prison, 693million is going towards installing a baggage scanner at Kitalya.
Emiku also says that prisons require 7.1 billion shillings to purchase 71,709 prisoners’ blankets with each blanket costing 50,000 shillings.
Emiku says that beddings like clothing feeding and shelter are basic human necessitates for prisoners and therefore each prisoner is entitled to a pair of blankets and felt mattresses and over time they have been faulted for not providing them.
Members of parliament on the committee questioned the figure of 7.5 billion for feeding staff encamped in prisons to which Byabashaija noted that it was meant to feed staff during the outbreak of the second wave of COVID-19 since they were never allowed to go home at a time to stop the spread of the virus.
On the failure to budget for contractual obligations Byabashiaja says that there was a shortfall in the budget and they are likely to pay more money for failure to fulfill these obligations.
