The Republic of Uganda

The Republic of Uganda VALUE FOR MONEY AUDIT REPORT ON UGANDA PRISONS SERVICE: PROVISON OF BASIC NECESSITIES TO PRISONERS Prepared By Office Of The Auditor-General P.O. Box 7083 Kampala March, 2010 i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF CONTENTS i LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iii List of Tables: Table 1 UPS Funding for the period 2005/06 to 2008/09 Table 2 Minimum food requirements by item and dietary scale Table 3 Food and firewood for the period 2009/10 in billion shillings Table 4 Food requirements and actual food and firewood for the period 2006/07 to 2008/09 in billion shillings EXECUTIVE SUMMARY vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background to the Audit 1 1.2 Description of the Audit Area 1 1.3 Statutory Mandate 2 1.4 Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives 2 1.5 Major Activities 3 1.6 Organisation Structure 4 1.7 Financing 4 1.8 Scope 4 CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOG 5 2.1 Document Review 5 2.2 Interviews 5 2.3 Inspection 5 i ii CHAPTER 3 SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES IN THE PROVISION OF BASIC NECESITIES 6 3.1 Roles and responsibilities of key players 6 3.2 Key Processes 8 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS 10 4.1 Provision of Food 10 4.1.1 Adequacy of food 10 4.1.2 Quality of food and meal times 13 4.1.3 Clean Water for Drinking 16 4.2 Health Care 17 4.2.1 Medical Examination and Vaccination on Admission to Prison 17 4.2.2 Availability of Medical Facilities in Prisons 20 4.2.3 Availability of Medical Staff 25 4.2.4 Management of Communicable Diseases 27 4.2.5 Control of insects, rodents and vermin transmitting diseases 27 4.3 Prisoners Clothing and Beddings 29 4.3.1 Uniforms 29 4.3.2 Beddings 31 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS 34 CHAPTER 6 RECOMMENDATIONS 36 GLOSSARY OF TERMS 41 List of Appendices: Appendix (i) Organisation Chart Appendix (ii) List of Documents obtained and reviewed during audit Appendix (iii) Equipment for Prisoners Appendix (iv) Clothing for Prisoners ii iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS: AC Assistant Commissioner ACP Assistant Commissioner of Prisons AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome CGP Commissioner General of Prisons CSO Civil Society Organisations DCGP Deputy Commissioner General of Prisons CP Commissioner of Prisons DCGP Deputy Commissioner General of Prisons DPP Directorate of Public Prosecution F&A Finance and Administration FY Financial Year Gms Grams GTZ Germany Technical Cooperation HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HR Human Resources ICRC International Committee for the Red Cross INTOSAI International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions JLOS Justice Law and Order Sector Kgs Kilograms MIA Ministry of Internal Affairs MO Medical Officer MoH Ministry of Health MoIA Ministry of Internal Affairs NGO Non-Governmental Organisations O/C or OC Officer in Charge RPC Regional Prisons Commander SIP-II Strategic Investment Plan II 2006/07 – 2010/11 SSP Senior Superintendent of Prisons TB Tuberculosis UHRC Uganda Human Rights Commission UN United Nations UPS Uganda Prisons Service VFM Value for Money iii iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction: The Auditor General is required under Article 163 (3) (b) of The constitution of the Republic of Uganda to conduct financial and value for money audits in respect of any project involving public funds. This mandate is amplified by Section 21(1) of the National Audit Act 2008 which requires the Auditor-General to carry out value for money audits for purposes of instilling economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the operations of any department or ministry. UPS is mandated by the Prisons Act 2006 to provide reasonable, safe, secure and humane custody and rehabilitation of offenders in accordance with universally accepted standards. The Office of the Auditor-General instituted a Value for Money Audit to assess the operations of UPS in the provision of basic necessities to inmates (including food, health care and clothing/beddings); identify the challenges, if any; and provide possible recommendations to mitigate them. The audit was carried out in accordance with INTOSAI Auditing Standards and Guidelines. The focus of the audit was on the provision of basic necessities to prisoners by UPS. The areas covered included: Arua, Lira and Gulu in the Northern region; Kampala, Rakai, Mityana, and Wakiso in the Central region; Kumi, Jinja and Mbale in the Eastern Region; and Kabale, Kyenjojo and Kasese in the Western region. In the collection of data, we reviewed documents, conducted interviews, and carried out physical inspection/observation of the facilities. This report covers Four Years from July 2005 to June 2009. Audit Findings: The audit revealed deficiencies in the provision of basic necessities. These are: Food and Water provision: (i) The quantity and quality of food served to inmates compared to the recommended dietary scale is inadequate. While only posho and beans are served, some prisons were not serving all the three meals in a day. There is also laxity in supervision and accountability for the food grown on the prison farms to supplement government resources. The quality of the food served does not meet all the basic food nutrients necessary for requisite the health and strength of the inmates. iv v These conditions violate the prisoners’ basic human rights to adequate and nutritious food as well as impair their wellbeing; (ii) There is inadequate provision of clean drinking water in some prisons, which leads to inmates drinking unclean water. This is a potential source of water-borne diseases; Health Care: (iii) Prisoners are not medically examined and vaccinated on admission. This can lead to the spread of diseases and failure to determine ones fitness to work; (iv) Medical facilities are limited and some are non-functional. The supply of drugs and sundries is also inadequate and support supervision is irregular. The health care situation is worsened by the practice of treating non-prisoners (over 50%) who could otherwise access treatment outside prison hospitals. This practice denies the prisoners the basic treatment and management of their diseases; (v) The prison service has insufficient medical staff to cope with the inmate population. While medical staff levels are expected to increase to 53% by the end of 2009/10FY, the prisoner population is currently at 212%; (vi) There is poor management of communicable diseases as evidenced by lack of adequate rooms to separate the sick prisoners from others in wards which are already congested. This exposes inmates to contracting contagious diseases during confinement; (vii) Measures to control insects, rodents and vermin in prison premises are inadequate. There is no fumigation carried out to control mosquitoes, lice and bedbugs which could otherwise reduce preventable diseases like malaria. Clothing/beddings: (viii) The uniforms supplied to prisoners by UPS management are insufficient to cover all the prisoners as required. While prisoners are entitled to 2 uniforms a year, some were not getting a uniform even though UPS has enough capacity to produce all the required uniforms. In the circumstances, maintenance of proper hygiene and proper identification becomes difficult; (ix) UPS does not provide sufficient beddings and separate beds as required by local and international standards. A few beds are only provided by organisations like ICRC. v vi Recommendations: (i) Ensure that food is measured before it is prepared and served to inmates in all stations. The capacity of prison farms should be enhanced to increase food production and make UPS self- sufficient in food production. Prison Farms should focus on producing crops recommended on dietary scales and the proceeds from the sale of cash crops should be used to purchase food items which are not currently catered for. To reduce congestion in prisons, UPS should take a leading role to impress on other stakeholders the need to improve the criminal justice system in the country, for instance, utilising alternative dispute resolution mechanisms; (ii) UPS Management should endeavour to provide the recommended food on the dietary scale in view of the current level of funding and farm production; (iii) Clean and safe drinking water should be provided to all prisoners at all times. UPS management should consider harvesting rain water to alleviate the situation; (iv) Medical examination on admission should be strictly observed to avoid the spread of contagious diseases. Appropriate separation of the sick should be enforced to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Those with HIV/AIDS should be transferred to equipped units for purposes of coping and gaining peer support. Staff should be sensitized on the benefits of regular and timely screening of inmates and keeping records; (v) The policy of providing free medical treatment to the communities outside the prisons using UPS budget alone should be re-evaluated; and the UPS resources should be reserved for serving the target population (prisoners). Key repairs to medical infrastructure should be prioritized. The purchase, allocation and distribution of drugs should be done in consultation with the recipient health units; (vi) More medical staff should be recruited and posting to upcountry stations be rationalized according to prisoner population; (vii) Fumigation of wards should be done regularly to control pests, rodents, vermin and other insects; (viii) The option of making uniforms in-house should be exploited to provide all inmates with enough uniforms. Business opportunities should be sought to utilize excess capacity; (ix) UPS should prioritise and increase the supply of blankets and beddings to the inmates. vi 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Audit: This Value for Money audit on the provision of basic necessities by Uganda Prisons Service has been conducted in accordance with Article 163(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda. This mandate is amplified under Section 21(1) of the National Audit Act 2008 which requires the Auditor-General to carry out value for money audits for purposes of instilling economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the operations of any department or ministry.

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