A Deputy Minister of Education, Alex Kyeremeh, has bemoaned the deplorable conditions in which inmates at the Sunyani Central Prison in the Brong Ahafo Region live.
According to him, it would be difficult to re-integrate inmates back into society after they had served their sentences if opportunities are not created for them to acquire employable skills.
The Minister who is also the Member of parlaiment for Techiman North said this when he presented some items to the prison.
He said reformation and reintegration of ex-convicts is a shared and collective responsibility, and appealed to the public not to stigmatise prisoners, especially after their incarceration.
The Deputy Minister also advised them to refrain from unhealthy lifestyles.
The Deputy Director of Prisons (DDP) Alhassan Nahii for his part, thanked the minister for the kindness he had shown to the inmates.
He expressed worry about the congestion at the various cells, saying the facility is overburdened
Major stakeholders in the country have expressed concerns over the crowded state of prisons in the country.
Apart from the Sunyani prison, other prisons such as Tamale Central Prisons are reportedly battling with accommodation challenges.
With a total population of about 158, the Tamale Central Prisons can only boast of three long ancient buildings with cracked walls and leaking roofs.
Mr Mark Woyongo, Minister of the Interior on Friday, in Auguist 2014 proposed the establishment of non custodian sentences, as part of measures to help decongest the country’s prisons.
The Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Navrongo Central, made the proposal wn he visited the Navrongo Central Prison to familiarize with the situation at the prisons and see how it could be improved.
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana