Interior minister Angelina Teny promises to address concerns raised by prisons service

JUBA, OCTOBER 24, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – South Sudan’s newly-appointed minister of interior Angelina Teny has promised to address grievances raised by the country’s prisons service authorities who said that lack of funds hinders their work.

Speaking during a visit by Mrs. Teny on Monday to the prison service in Juba, the Director-General of South Sudan National Prisons Service (SSNPS) General Henry Kuany Aguer said most of their funds are allocated to the inmates leaving them empty-handed.

“The budget for the fiscal year 2023/2024 is 18,837,424,596 SSP but prisoners alone consume 17,100,001,000 SSP per year and the balance would be 1,737,423,596 SSP and this is to cater for chapter one salaries and wages, chapter two service and chapter three capital expenditure,” he stated.

“Accommodation for both prison personnel and prisoners, uniforms for both staff and prisoners and office space are the burning issues which requires collective efforts for their solution as our budget could not cover them and above all the separation of prisoners budget from the prisons staff budget is paramount,” he added.

On her part, the minister of interior said she has heard the issues raised by the prison authorities and promised to address them as the ministry and the directorate of prisons service cooperate and coordinate.

“We have heard all your challenges. We will see how we streamline, and how we cooperate and coordinate,” she said.

The deputy minister of interior David Mariel Gumbe responded that stressed the role of the prisons service saying, “you have a big role in the security of the country.”