Mozambique may introduce the use of electronic bracelets to monitor prisoners on parole. The measure could ease overcrowding in the country's prisons.

Electronic bracelets are already provided for in the Penal Code, but their implementation is still inactive due to various factors, according to today's newspaper News, quoting the presiding judge of the Execution of Sentences Section of the Maputo Provincial Court, Berta Zita.

With the introduction of the device, parolees would have a predetermined radius of movement, Zita said.

Currently, authorization for provisional release is conditional on several requirements being met.

On the other hand, she told the newspaper that the creation of a Penalty Enforcement Court is an urgent challenge, as there are only three Penalty Enforcement Chambers in the country, namely in the city and province of Maputo and Sofala.

"We need a court to deal with existing cases quickly enough," he argued.

However, Zita said that work is ongoing, as there are shortages of funds to coordinate the activities carried out in the four prisons controlled by the section.

"The staff are also few. At the B.O. there is only one section with one person. A notary's office needs at least four employees, and we have six for the four establishments we assist," he said.