Mzuni to partner Mzuzu Prison for food security
Mzuzu University (MZUNI) has expressed interest to partner Mzuzu Prison in a quest to ensure that the prison is food secure so that inmates do not struggle with issues of food.
This was disclosed when the university visited the prison to donate assorted items ranging from cooking oil, salt, soya pieces, sugar and dried fish worth about 1.3 million Kwacha.
Vice Chancellor for the university, Professor Wales Singini, said apart from teaching, learning and research, the university has an obligation to engage in some outreach programmes.
He added that the two institutions can borrow a leaf from the partnership between Nkhata-Bay District Hospital and Nkhata-Bay Prison that has seen significant maize production that has benefitted the two institutions in Nkhata-Bay.
“We have land at Choma. We can get into a similar partnership with Mzuzu Prison. We can get a piece of land where we can jointly produce maize. That maize will be able to support the services that our colleagues here are offering while at the same time for us as a university, it will also be for revenue generation,” explained Professor Singini.
Officer in Charge for Mzuzu Prison, Deputy Commissioner Smart Maliro, said maize cultivation within his institution’s set up will provide ready food for the prisoners with an assurance of improved nutrition. He expressed hope that savings from food costs could be redirected to other services.
“They will give us land and we will provide labour. Upon harvest, it shall be seen how we are going to share that maize but we are very sure that the portion that we will get will assist us quite a lot. Instead of spending money on buying maize, we will be using that money for other equally important issues,” remarked Maliro.
Mzuzu Prison was established in 1956 during the British colonial era and currently has 662 inmates.
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