The Government has increased the daily feeding allocation for inmates in Ghana’s prisons from GH¢1.80 to GH¢5, representing an increase of about 178 percent.
Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, Minister for the Interior, however, said the new allocation remained inadequate to provide decent meals for inmates and expressed hope that it could be increased further.
The Minister said the increase had improved the situation compared with the previous allocation, but Government was working towards providing more resources for inmate feeding.
“Our hope is that if possible in 2027, if we could at least get it to 10 cedis, then we’ll know that at least we are giving them something that is close to decent,” he said.
Government Tackles Prison Congestion
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak also identified overcrowding in Ghana’s prisons as a major challenge and said Government was implementing measures to ease congestion.
He said 998 inmates benefited from an amnesty exercise undertaken the previous year, while an application had been submitted for about 770 additional inmates to benefit from amnesty.
The application, he said, was currently before the Council of State for advice to the President.
The Minister said Government was also awaiting presidential assent to the Community Service Bill passed by Parliament.
The legislation, he explained, would allow persons serving minor sentences to undertake community service instead of being committed to prison.
He said the measure would help reduce congestion while ensuring that minor offenders were not unnecessarily exposed to prison conditions.
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak described conditions in some prisons as inhumane, stressing that incarceration should focus not only on punishment but also on rehabilitation and preparing inmates for reintegration into society.
Education And Skills Training
He said the Ghana Prison Service had expanded educational and vocational training programmes to equip inmates with skills for life after their release.
About 294 inmates had benefited from basic education, while 102 had graduated from secondary education programmes.
He said 553 inmates had also benefited from tertiary education, while 2,985 inmates had received vocational training, including 143 juveniles.
The Minister said infrastructure support for the Prison Service had also been strengthened, including the construction of four prison camps with support from the Church of Pentecost.
He said Government was also providing vehicles and other logistics to enable the Prison Service to transport inmates to court and medical facilities.
Security Services Receive Logistics
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak said the broader security-sector retooling programme had resulted in the distribution of 272 pickup vehicles among security agencies.
The Police Service received more than 160 vehicles, while the Prisons Service received 30 pickups and one SUV.
The Fire Service received 15 vehicles, the Immigration Service 23, and the Narcotics Control Commission 25, while 13 vehicles were allocated to non-security agencies.
He added that the Police Service had also received 40 armoured vehicles.
On recruitment, the Minister said Government had recruited 10,000 personnel as the first batch for the security services.
Additionally, 22,000 young people had been engaged through the Youth Employment Agency to support the Police, Prisons and Fire Services.
Of that number, 12,000 were supporting the Police Service, while 5,000 each were supporting the Prisons and Fire Services.
He said Government intended to give qualified beneficiaries of the programme priority in future recruitment exercises into the security services.
