In order to allow the Ghana Prison Service to manufacture 30% of all school furniture and 30% of all school uniforms that are freely given to schools and students by the government, the Interior Ministry is in negotiations with the Ministry of Education.
According to Interior and National Security Minister Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, a similar deal will be struck to enable the Ghana Prison Service to manufacture and purchase 20% of sanitary pads as part of the free sanitary pad program.
In contrast to the current situation, which I refer to as warehousing inmates — keeping them idle with little to do — we are taking these steps to guarantee that our formative programs within the institutions are totally changed, he stated.
These statements were given by Alhaji Muntaka at a news conference held at the Presidency in Accra to present his Mid-Year Review Report for the Ministry of the Interior.
The Presidential Communications Bureau arranged the news conference as part of the “Governance Accountability Series,” which aims to increase accountability and transparency in government.
In order to promote academic continuity for juveniles and convicts, the Minister disclosed that the Ghana Prison Service had launched a juvenile and secondary education program.
Additionally, he declared the completion of the Damongo Correctional Facility, which will increase prison capacity and lessen overcrowding.
Alhaji Muntaka stated, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Church of Pentecost for their excellent support of the Ghana Prison Service.”
He mentioned that the newly finished Damongo facility is the fifth camp prison, each at different stages of completion.
“I want to encourage everyone — citizens, individuals, businesses, and corporate organisations—to come to the aid of the security services, especially the prisons, which face huge challenges in managing over 14,000 inmates, including foreigners,” he said, adding that if a church can support the Ghana Prison Service this much, then everyone should.
“As you may know, the inmates receive GH₵1.80 for their meals, which is dreadfully insufficient.”
In order to increase inmate feeding, the Ministry is concentrating on agriculture. The Minister stated that in addition to growing roughly 1,654 acres of crops, funds had been obtained for a 5,000-layer poultry operation. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is supporting this program by providing inputs and equipment.
Alhaji Muntaka added that in order to match jail operations with national productivity targets, the Ghana jail Service had started creating a 24-hour economic proposal.
Under the One Million Quotas Initiative, he added, the Service has also started a digital literacy program to provide officers, convicts, and their dependents with digital skills.
Additionally, to increase the Ghana Prison Service’s human resource capacity for non-custodial responsibilities, the Ministry had started hiring support staff in partnership with the Youth Employment Agency.
According to the Minister, the Ministry has removed and deported more than 2,241 street beggars to their home countries in collaboration with the Ghana Immigration Service and the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection.
He claimed that this program has helped vulnerable communities in a humane manner while restoring public order in urban areas.
“Not just in Accra but in all the cities in the nation, we are mapping a strategy to eliminate all these challenges on our streets,” he continued.
In order to improve agency operations and young employability, he also announced a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of young Development to facilitate internships at security agencies.
He stated that the first group of interns will begin training on July 16 and would be placed throughout the police, prison, and fire departments.
Speaking on the Ghana Police Service, the Minister stated that as part of the government’s flagship program, a 24-Hour Economy Secretariat has been set up at the Police Headquarters in Accra to offer businesses round-the-clock security.
He clarified that this was done to promote economic growth without worrying about attacks and to guarantee the safe flow of people and products.
He stated that the Ghana Police Service had carried out intelligence-driven anti-robbery operations in every region and had made significant progress in cases such as the killings of mobile money merchants in Aflao, Koforidua, and Kumasi.
