and sufficient ventilation and light. More funds should be secured to have the sewerage system, toilets and washing room revamped. A budget is available for new equipment to be bought every three months (including kitchen utensils, plates and dishes). The Director also managed to get assistance from the GTZ (German Cooperation) to train staff in secutut good treatment of prisoners and agriculture. All prisoners interviewed stries,A1 the quality of management and good relationships with the guards. Some assistance from UNDP helped develop the library. In co-ordination with the Department of Education, adult literacy programmes recently started in parallel to the school already nm inside the prison, attended by 91 students. The health centre meets minimum requirements with regards to equipment and medicine. The Director further plans to introduce an electronic file recording system and has developed some close collaboration with NGOs and religious organisations to improve food, health and legal assistance. erilowding remains the most worrying issue. The Director developed an t entre where prisoners can be sent, which helps reduce the prison population dnd improve and diversify the daily diet of prisoners. But despite the strong determination of the prison Director, overcrowding can only be tackled in collaboration with the police, the judiciary and civil society. Collaboration with civil society and NGOs T he authorities reported that the relationships with NGOs and religious organisations had improved over the last years. The Mozambican League for Human Rights is, for instance, working with the Ministry of Justice on a programme to impio\e Jccess to justice by training and posting paralegals in the provinces. The was also involved in human rights training for prison staff and was allot\ Ltl to visit prisons on a more regular basis. When problems arose in Montepuez prison where 70 prisoners died in 2000, the League was allowed to inquire about the event. It should be noted as well that NGOs and religious organisations could get involved in prison to provide assistance to prisoners. A religious nurse provides health care and a daily glass of milk to prisoners at Tete Provincial Prison. 34 The Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed to the delegation that collaboration with NGOs and religious organisations was sought to help improve conditions of detention and in particular food, health care and education possibilities. It recognised as well the importance to involve civil society at large in the development of alternatives to imprisonment and recalled the usefulness of the International seminar on conditions of detention that took place in December 1999 in Maputo. Open prisons and numerus clausus I n Mabalane Penitentiary Prison - Xai-Xai pro% ince, numerus clausus is implemented. This open prison built in 1976 is .1 gr rd example of productive, cost effective and humane imprisonment. It was the biggest one at that time. It was bombed during the war and is now in use again. Only long-term prisoners are transferred to this prison farm and on condition of good behaviour. There they can work in the lands or in workshops. Accommodation conditions meet minimum requirements. Part of the production goes to the province's prisons for food. Another part is sold on the market to set up a prison fund. Prisoners are not paid directly but the prison pays their bail when they are eligible to conditional release. Prisoners receive three meals per day including tea and bread for breakfast. They eat meat twice a month, and fish quite regularly as well as vegetables. At Chingozi Open Centre in Tete province, prisoners can engage in agricultural and cattle breeding activities. Good behaviour is the condition for a transfer to this open centre. Families can come and stay around at the centre but they are not accommodated with the prisoners. Prisoners are also allowed to visit their families. The Director plans to have the accommodation building upgraded and more open prisons started in the province. In both places, prisoners had no complaints and were satisfied with their conditions. Some of them planned to settle in the area after their release. Both experiences show that despite minimal supervision, escapes are rare. Besides, very few of the people who have served their remaining sentence in these places have re-offended. 35