The Uganda Prisons Service has continued to strengthen its production and vocational skilling programs in line with the Presidential directive to produce furniture for all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.
According to the Uganda Prisons Service Spokesman Frank Baine, þhis effort supports the government’s goal of promoting local production, creating jobs and reducing import dependence.
A major milestone under this initiative is the expansion of the Luzira – Upper Prisons Carpentry Workshop, which was completed and became fully operational in 2022.
The workshop has been transformed into a modern centre for carpentry and joinery, fitted with state-of-the-art woodworking machinery, including automated cutting machines, high-speed planers, dust extractors and precision finishing equipment.
These upgrades have greatly improved efficiency, quality and safety, allowing the workshop to produce durable and well-designed furniture for government, individuals and institutional clients.
Uganda Prisons Service treats production as an important part of rehabilitation, helping inmates gain hands-on skills that prepare them for a productive life after release and this approach has turned prisons into centres of learning and productivity that contribute directly to national growth and self-reliance.
The Uganda Prisons Industries connects training with real-life production and it runs nine industrial workshops across major prisons which include Luzira Upper, Murchison Bay, and Kitalya Mini Maxi, where inmates produce furniture, textiles and uniforms for government ministries, departments, local governments and public institutions.
According to Baine, Uganda Prisons Service production enterprises generated Ugx 238.9 billion in Non-Tax Revenue (NTR) last financial year, making a significant contribution to the national economy.
Baine said that these certified skills have opened doors for former inmates to work, start businesses and support their families and many of them have set up carpentry workshops, tailoring shops and other small enterprises after serving their sentence, becoming productive members of their communities.
He explained that the vocational program has also led to reduced idleness, better discipline and higher self-confidence among inmates and nationally, the re-offending rate has dropped from 14.7% to 13.9%, showing steady progress in rehabilitation and reintegration.
Baine said that Uganda Prisons Service growing list of partnerships with national institutions like NIRA, KCCA, All Saints Cathedral Nakasero, the Ministry of ICT, Lira University, Kamuli Town Council, Office of the President, Uganda Police Force, Office of the Prime Minister, Soroti City Council, Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, and Makerere University, among others, demonstrates its central role in advancing national development, industrialization and local enterprise.
