86 UNQUALIFIED WARDERS RECALLED

MBABANE – The Correctional Services department college has recalled 86 warders to undergo the basic Training Course in Corrections. This is a 12 month-course that prepares recruits to be warders.

The officers who were recalled from their workstations had been recruited and deployed by the department between 2011 and 2012.
Isaiah Ntshangase, Commissioner of Correctional Services, said the officers had been deployed to the department’s 12 centres before they completed the basic entry course to the profession of warders.

Their premature deployment was undertaken because at the time, the department had an acute shortage of staff.
Ntshangase said the officers were sent out from the college to fill vacancies prematurely, after having trained for six months.
He said the officers had been in the college for a number of weeks now and were now about to complete their training programme.
He said the recalled officers mostly consisted of professionals in
various fields, such as nursing, teaching and carpenters, among others. 

He said the department hired the professionals to work with inmates in their various rehabilitation programmes.
He said even though the officers were working as warders and more warders were produced by the college this year, the department was still understaffed.

There were 1 950 officers looking after 3 812 inmates in the various correctional facilities countrywide.
There were 3 100 convicted offenders and 712 suspects who were being rehabilitated by the department. With the crop of warders under the employ of the department, the commissioner said the ratio of warders against inmates did not add up.
 He said according to world standards, each officer should be responsible for five convicted offenders while two officers should be responsible for one suspect who had not been convicted.

A casual look at the above figures could reveal that the department was overstaffed because each warder was responsible for two inmates.
However, Ntshangase said the number of officers against offenders fell short. This was mainly because the department provided its services 24 hours a day, through a three-shift system.

He said, therefore, there was serious shortage of personnel to work in the shifts.
He also said the shortage became more glaring each time officers took leave or off days from time to time.
The Commissioner said the next pass-out parade would be on June 6, 2014.
The 150 officers will graduate together with 64 new recruits presently undertaking the same course in the college.
This means, in June, 150 officers will graduate from the college.

All the officers will then be posted to various workstations as qualified warders.
Meanwhile, Ntshangase said the department will upgrade its certificate programme to a diploma course. He said his unit was working with the University of Swaziland for accreditation and development of new courses that will be undertaken by new recruits.
Ntshangase said the new programme will include courses in Human Rights, Psychology and Social Work among others.

He said officers who would conduct the courses were already undergoing training, upgrading themselves in various centres of higher learning.
“We want them to be degree holders and already most of them have degree qualifications,” he said.   

He said the college had 16 instructors, teaching such subjects as management, communication and research and safety management, among others.
Ntshangase said the new diploma programme would commence next year and could be undertaken over a period of three years.

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