By Tunomukwathi Asino
WINDHOEK – Namibian Prisons Commissioner General, Evaristus Shikongo, bade well to his colleagues yesterday at a farewell ceremony held at the prisons offices.
“This is a momentous day for me, I am pleased to inform you that my being here today is twofold – to recognize the men and women of the Namibian Correctional Service who distinguished themselves and excelled distinctively in the performance of their duty by conferring them awards, and to officially inform you about my retirement from public service on 31 January 2014,” Shikongo said. He also thanked the people he has worked with. “I thank all the countless people that have made the last 18 years so wonderful, so rewarding and so memorable to me.”
He said the Policy Document and Mission Statement of the Namibian Correctional Service has “guided us successfully in many areas of our development and indeed it has become the basis upon which we have initiated our transformation agenda”.
Shikongo noted that in 1996 when he was appointed as Commissioner General, the organizational structure of the Namibian Correctional Service, which was referred to as the Department of Prisons Service at the time, provided only for a staff complement of 1 493 but it now has a staff complement of 6 000 personnel.
“I am very happy to retire at a time when the Namibian Correctional Service has traversed many miles in its journey towards a more professionalised and mission-driven correctional agency, embracing a scientific and evidence-based approach to the way we organize, provide and manage rehabilitative and other correctional services to offenders,” he said.
“I urge that the same support rendered to me by all of you during my tenure in office be extended to the incoming Commissioner General,” the outgoing Commissioner General said.