Monrovia — The representative of Grand Grand Gedeh's third district, Jacob Debee, has raised concern over the deteriorating condition of the National Correction Palace in Zwedru.
The facility is reportedly in a deplorable state, highlighting significant issues with infrastructure, power supply, vehicles and maintenance.
The condition of such a vital institution reflects systemic problems that need urgent attention to ensure the humane treatment of inmates and the proper functioning of the justice system.
In his communication to House Speaker, Fonati Koffa, Rep Debee said such conditions pose a serious security risk to the lives and well-being of the people and residents of Grand Gedeh County.
Said Rep. Debee, "It is in a deplorable condition, the fence is broken, the rehabilitation center is unroofed, the two stand-by generators have not been operational for years, no sufficient food for inmates, no skill-training facilitates, the assigned Police Support Unit (PSU) officers do not have place to sleep, and keeping high cores convicted criminals in such prison is dangerous."
He added that the situation stands to be highly detrimental to Liberians in the event of an uprising or jailbreak by inmates.
Accordingly, such potential incidents pose massive risks, not only to the safety and security of the general populace, but also to the stability of the nation, which could lead to a surge of more criminal activities, creating an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty among citizens.
Rep. Debee noted that the vehicles used by the PSU officers at the Palace are all grounded, which impedes the officers' effective operations.
With the non-functional vehicles, officers would be unable to respond swiftly to incidents, conduct patrols, or transport detainees effectively which could lead to compromise their ability to maintain order and security, he said
"In view of the above, I crave your indulgence to invite the Minister of Justice who is the Attorney General of the Republic of Liberia before the House of Representatives along with his deputies to explain to us why the Palace of Correction is in such an appalling condition, and to justify the usage of the budgetary allocation in the national budget for Palace of Correction which seems abandoned by the government of Liberia," he said.
