New prison will be government-run and owned

New prison will be government-run and owned
[FILE PHOTO]

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government plans to engage in a public, private partnership to construct a new prison complex, according to Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis.

The prime minister made the announcement during the budget communication in Parliament yesterday.

Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis

While details on the nature of the PPP were limited, Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe told Eyewitness News, that the new prison complex will be run by the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services and it will be “ultimately owned by the Bahamas government”.

The cost of the new prison complex was not contained in the budget communication.

A look at the budget allocations for the Ministry of National Security shows the ministry will receive $15.48 million in the upcoming fiscal period — a $1.1 million increase over the current fiscal allocation.

In the first nine months of this fiscal period, the ministry spent $8.8 million of its $14.32 allocation.

A total of $9.3 million was allocated for the Ministry of National Security in the fiscal period 2020/2021.

On the capital expenditure side, an allocation has been made for $900,000 for correctional service upgrades.

Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe

Overcrowding at the Department of Correctional Services has been a longstanding challenge.

Her Majesty’s Fox Hill Prison, as it was formerly named, was built to hold around 1,200 inmates, though the facility had over 2,500 inmates as of June 30, 2019, according to an auditor general’s report.

In March, Munroe foreshadowed the construction of a $40 million 700-bed high-medium security facility, with construction expected to begin this summer.

Meanwhile, the government has allocated $7.6 million in capital expenditure for military, police and prison equipment in the upcoming budget.

Recruitment is also expected to take place for the Royal Bahamas Police Force — as announced by the prime minister yesterday.

Capital expenditure for the RBPF has also been set at $5.3 million in the upcoming fiscal period.

During the budget communication, the prime minister also advised that the government will increase its capital allocation for the RBPF to allow them to purchase the necessary crime-fighting tools.

About Royston Jones Jr.

Royston Jones Jr. is a senior digital reporter and occasional TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. Since joining Eyewitness News as a digital reporter in 2018, he has done both digital and broadcast reporting, notably providing the electoral analysis for Eyewitness News’ inaugural election night coverage, “Decision Now 2021”.