| Business |
Better news from Baisu
RECENTLY we had occasion to express
dismay at the allegedly wholesale looting of Corrective Services
property by certain employees at Baisu jail.
So today, we’re pleased to report news of a more positive
nature, received from the active media unit at the Western
Highlands jail.
It is reported that Baisu prisoners are now being used to
maintain Kagamuga airport outside Mt Hagen city.
They’re involved in cleaning and general maintenance work at the
airport under a special rehabilitation programme.
The prisoners are described as “low risk” and they are deployed
at Kagamuga to cut airport grass, clear drains and generally
maintain the key highlands peles balus.
The regional Civil Aviation manager based at Kagamuga is quoted
as saying that “the use of prison labour is one way prisoners
can give something back to the community and make up for their
past wrongs”.
We applaud those sentiments and the initiative now underway at
the airport.
We also urge other airports in the region to respond positively
to the CA manager’s request for the use of prisoners at airports
to extend within his region.
We would like to see the concept extended throughout PNG. There
are thousands of prisoners incarcerated in our jails.
Their upkeep is a major public expense and often they have
little to do within the jail confines. If they can be utilised
in community-oriented work at no risk to the public, then we
believe both jail and civil authorities should be involved in
such a programme.
Why not set up a small office within Corrective Services HQ
tasked with organising and monitoring such a project on a
national basis?
Apart from the obvious advantages to the community, jail
authorities could also make membership of these rehabilitation
groups conditional upon excellent behaviour within the prisons.
Then the prisoners would have a real incentive to gain a place
within these community oriented groups.
Obviously before any wholesale community deployment of prisoners
occurs, many other aspects of such a project must be in place.
Paramount is the selection of low-risk prisoners to work outside
the jails.
Care would have to be taken to make sure that each prisoner
granted approval to join an external rehabilitation group had
been monitored before selection.
We have had many instances of prisoners escaping custody while
wantok warders turn a blind eye or are conveniently absent;
we’ve also noted occasions when inadequate numbers of guards has
meant mass escapes from work sites outside jail walls.
If the public is to develop confidence in such a scheme, there
must as far as humanly possible be no repetitions of those
incidents.
We are reminded of the old kiap system.
Under its provisions the local authority, often a sub-district
or district officer had the power to arrange for sampela kalabus
or some prisoners to be deployed in civic action roles.
The work might be simple and repetitious.
In the Western Highlands for example, we recall river stones
spelling out the names of certain small airstrips.
The stones were painted white and combined with the immaculate
lawns that surrounded them, presented a welcome to all who
landed at those small towns.
The image was the product of work gangs from the local lock-up.
On other occasions the undertakings were of major proportions. A
road connecting the Jimi valley to the main highlands highway
was opened in 1970; an ABC television team flew to PNG from
Sydney, Australia, and its members were among the first convoy
to use that torturous access.
Ol Kalabus played a major role in the construction of that road
in tandem with the adjoining village people; it was indeed a
major achievement.
There will be some who will have concerns about the human rights
of prisoners.
The scheme as outlined would pose no threat to prisoners or
their rights; there is no suggestion here of setting up chain
gangs or similar excesses familiar from American movies and
television.
Effective monitoring would ensure that no abuses took place.
We commend the Baisu initiative.
We’re also aware that some efforts along similar lines have been
trialed elsewhere in PNG.
Perhaps now is the time to organise this excellent idea on a
national basis.
 
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