President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to sign the Kenya Prisons Enterprise Corporation Order of 2018, that establishes the Kenya Prisons Enterprise Corporation.
A statement to newsrooms from the National Government Communication Centre states that the corporation will be mandated to expand the scope of the prison work programs with the aim of unlocking the revenue potential of the prisons industry and ultimately turn it into a reformative and financially self-sustaining entity.
“The new Corporation will also contribute to the realization of President Kenyatta’s Big 4 Agenda, particularly Food Security, Affordable Housing, and Manufacturing. In this regard, it will be mandated to organize and manage the assets of the Prison Department, including 86 prison farms with a total of over 18,225.9 acres of land,” reads the statement in part.
The production and sale processes under the current Prison Department’s enterprise directorate are managed by the Kenya Prison Farms Fund and the Kenya Prison Enterprise Fund.
Following the enactment of the Order, the two Funds will be merged to ensure the new Corporation operates under a typical business model.
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The enactment of this Order will be followed by the appointment of the Corporation Board of Management and the recruitment of the Chief Executive Officer and the Secretariat.
“The Corporation will eliminate bureaucracy and establish a culture of professional training and certification for the staff and inmates and foster ease of entry into partnership with the private sector on different spheres,” adds the statement.
“It will also act as a vehicle for strategic investment by government and ensure prisoners are rewarded through better pay for their labour.
The Corporation, which will operate as a State Corporation will be wholly owned by the Government and mainstreamed by the Prison Act.
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