12/07/2026
Sun, 12 Jul 2026
Prison Inmates Forge Financial Futures at Landmark Financial Summit
12 July 2026
Inside-Out News Matabeleland North Bureau
In a historic shift from punishment to purpose, 57 inmates from Bulawayo s Correctional facilities gathered on Saturday, July 11, 2026, at Noah's Ark Correctional Community Centre in Queens Park East for a business summit aimed at transforming convicts into entrepreneurs through financial literacy and Prisoner Employment Partnerships.
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe - The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) Bulawayo Metropolitan Province shattered traditional Notions of incarceration on Saturday when it hosted a groundbreaking business Summit for inmates at North Correctional Community center bringing together 57 prison inmates, corporate executives, community leaders and even relatives of inmates under the theme, 'From Correction to Creation: building wealth with purpose making what officials described as a decisive break from the punitive past towards restorative justice and economic empowerment.
the summit powered by the Deacon Foundation and facilitated by its founder Apostle David Mlangeni represented the first large-scale convergence of private sector stakeholders with incarcerated individuals in Bulawayo. Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service Bulawayo Metropolitan Province introduced Prisoner Employment Partnerships (PEP) with companies that include Udine Products, United Refinery, and ZIMTILE - firms that have formally committed to training or employing inmates upon release. The event was attended by inmates from Bulawayo prisons including Mlondolozi female prison alongside their relatives,senior ZPCS officers and special guests.
From Punishment to Partnership: A New Correctional Philosophy
Chief Correctional Officer Risias Chikwetu ,the ZPCS Provincial Rehabilitation Coordinator delivered what many attendees described as the summit's defining statement, "We have gone past the punitive era."
