Herald Reporter
The International Committee of the Red Cross and a local company, Sunrick Investments, on Thursday donated an assortment of personal protective equipment worth US$120 000 to the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) to protect prisoners and staff from a potential Covid-19 outbreak.
The donation included disposable shoe covers, water proof space suits, rain suits, gum boots, latex and rubber gloves, surgical masks, disposable plastic aprons, theatre caps, sanitisers, refuse bags, bin liners, toilet dip, sodium hypochlorite, chloride of lime, scrubs, squizzers, hard brooms and mutton cloth.
Sunrick Investments handed over 1 900 re-usable face masks. The donation was given to the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs permanent secretary Mrs Virginia Mabiza by ICRC Head of Mission Cherine Pollini at Harare Central Prison .
Mrs Mabiza said the donation was timely.
“It is against this background that both Government and the ZPCS remain appreciative of such level of benevolence, especially when being targeted to the disadvantaged groups within our settings that include the inmates,” she said.
She said ICRC had previously donated consignments of medical items to fight Covid-19.
Mrs Mabiza hailed other companies like Sunrick Investments for chipping in to make a difference in the lives of the prisoners.
Mrs Mabiza said the ZPCS was already undertaking risk assessment and management, fumigation exercises and other measures to prevent an outbreak.
The event was attended by ZPCS Commissioner-General Paradzayi Zimondi, Sunrick Investments director Mr Wellington Mugodhi, the company’s managing director Mr Ellias Munanzvi, ICRC officials and ZPCS officers.