MAPUTO, Dec. 17– Mozambique has launched the first phase of a pilot project introducing electronic bracelets for inmates, a measure expected to reduce pressure on overcrowded prisons and cut about 12 percent of the annual budget of the National Penitentiary Service.
Mozambique’s national news agency AIM reported Tuesday that the project, unveiled at the main Maputo Prison, will initially cover about 3,000 inmates and is being implemented in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Minister of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs Mateus Saize said the initiative would allow inmates to serve alternative sentences under electronic monitoring, reducing state expenditure by about 360 million meticais (around 5.7 million U.S. dollars) annually.
According to the minister, the savings could be redirected toward improving prison infrastructure, rehabilitation programs and justice system modernization.
The electronic monitoring system is already operational, pending the selection of eligible inmates by judicial authorities. The National Penitentiary Service currently oversees around 20,000 inmates. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
