Tanzania to start paying prisoners for manual labour

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What you need to know:

  • The wages would help the inmates stand on their two feet and reintegrate with society once they've served their sentence.

Dar es Salaam. The Commissioner General of Tanzania's Prisons Service, General Suleiman Mzee has said plans are underway for correction facilities in the country to start paying prisoners for penal labour such as farming and construction.

The Commissioner said the wages would help the inmates stand on their two feet and reintegrate with society once they've served their sentence.

"We've already seen the fruits of their labour. Now, every prison in Tanzania is creating job opportunities for prisoners so that they can earn wages and have a starting point once they are out of prison," said General Mzee.

The head of prisons said often times inmates go back to committing crimes once released from the correction facilities because the environment which fueled their criminal acts remains unchanged. He thus urged society not to judge prisoners but instead help them reintegrate into the community.