Harare Central prison sold to the Chinese

Harare Prison

Harare Central prison complex which houses more one 2000 families and over 4 000 inmates has been sold to a Chinese company

The company plans to convert the jail into a manufacturing plant. The prison complex is made up of Harare Remand and Central prisons, a workshop, the commissioner's mess and officers' accommodation.

According to highly placed sources within the Prison Service National Headquarters who attended a meeting in Harare last Tuesday to finalise the deal, the Chinese firm has offered to build a new prison at Chikurubi farm with the process to relocate the Harare Central prison to happen over a five-year period.

The name of the Chinese firm was not yet available and it was not immediately what business the company is involved in.According to our sources, a delegation comprising heads of ZPS departments has visited the proposed new prison site to ascertain the suitability of the area. It could not be established how much the Chinese firm paid or is going to pay for the relocation of Harare Central prison to Chikurubi.

 "Work has started and all senior heads of departments were on Tuesday (last week) ordered to go and scout the suggested ground on which their Stations, Sections and Departments are to be erected at Chikurubi farm which is also Prisons' property. "We have also been ordered to put down our requirements for each department and forward them with immediate effect," said the source who also attended the meeting.

ZPS acting public relations officer superintendent Elizabeth Banda confirmed the development, which she described as a "win-win deal".

"I can confirm that there are plans to relocate Harare Central Prison Complex and appropriate measures and procedures are being taken to make sure that both parties benefit from it," said Banda in a telephone interview.

However other senior ZPS officials argued that the decision to relocate Harare Central prison to Chikurubi could endanger the health of both prison staff and inmates because of dust and other emissions from the giant Lafarge Cement (formerly Circle Cement) plant near Chikurubi.

An officer, who did not want to be named, said: "It is Chikurubi Prison that should be moved elsewhere considering the environmental andhealth issues."