Revealed: Govt spends Sh1,342 per day on feeding a prisoner

Dodoma. The government was on Monday, April 9, pressed to reveal the amount of money it spends on feeding a prisoner after a lawmaker for Njombe constituency raised concerns over the challenges prisoners in the country were facing.

During the Question and Answer Session in parliament, the Deputy Minister for Home Affairs, Hamad Yusuf Masauni revealed that Sh1,342 is spent per day to feed one prisoner.

The MP for Njombe Urban constituency, Edward Mwalongo sought to know what the government was doing to improve the quality of life in congested prisons, in terms of beddings and food, pressing to know how much money was being spent on food per prisoner, and if that food was nutritious enough.

In response, Mr Masauni said the government was providing good quality food at that cost, and efforts were being made to improve the living conditions of prisoners in prisons across the country.

He admitted that prisons in the country carry 40,000 prisoners which is beyond their capacity of 30,000 prisoners.