Story by Tafara Chikumira
The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) in the Midlands province has come up with a cocktail of measures earmarked to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change.
The new measures have seen prison officers and inmates engaging stakeholders to make a number of activities aimed at preserving the environment.
Part of the activities include continuous plantation of trees and finding alternative sources of energy.
Speaking to the ZBC News, ZPCS Officer Commanding Midlands Province, Commissioner Somemore Gate said, “We have made deliberate efforts to ensure that all the students we enroll at our Whawha Primary School to plant trees so that when they reach Grade 7 they will see their trees grow. At the moment, we are seized with the issue of establishing biogas plants at our prisons to ensure that our prisoners get clean energy in their cooking activities.”
Development partners have urged the society to embrace the culture of planting trees and preservation of nature for posterity.
“The planting of trees is everyone’s responsibility. We need to spring to action so that we preserve the environment. We need to understand that trees can survive in our absence as humanity, but we can’t survive in the absence of trees,” Acting Midlands Provincial Forestry Commission Manager, Mr Polite Foto said.
“Our environment defines the future we want. I want to thank the ZPCS for taking bold steps in preserving the environment in such a unique way. We need to understand that the future generations rely on our ability to ensure they enjoy lies with us,” noted 4H director, Mr John Muchenje.
The world is grappling with adverse effects of climate change and the efforts by the ZPCS are commendable as they go a long way in curbing the effects of climate change.
