The Winner of 2021 Ghana Most Beautiful, Benedicta Sarfoa Asamoah, with the support of Her Royal Highness, Lady Julia Osei Tutu the wife of Asantehene together with other stakeholders, have launched the Prison Reform Project at the Manhyia Palace with a call on Ghanaians to help change the status quo of prisons in Ghana.
The Prisons Reform Project is an offshoot of the Sarfoa Foundation and the brainchild of Benedicta Sarfoa Asamoah, 2021 winner of Ghana Most Beautiful which aims at improving conditions at Prisons in Ghana.
Benedicta Sarfoa Asamoah, who doubles as the originator of the project, noted that the challenge at the Prisons Service is not a single responsibility of the government and asked for all and sundry to offer a helping hand to address the menace at Ghana’s prisons.
“The government cannot do it alone, the President cannot do this alone, but if you and I decide to come together, we can work and proffer a lasting solution to this challenge for Ghana to be used as yardstick in the comity of nations. Let us close our ranks and accept the inmates as one of our own and thereby correcting them for Ghana to develop”, she stressed.
In an address, Lady Julia Osei Tutu mentioned that children and relatives who are in prisons custody belong to the society, but they ended up in prisons after they came into contravention with the laws of Ghana.
Her Royal Highness further noted that although, the term of stay of the prison inmates could be termed as a means of punishment, they are supposed to be taught some form of skills whilst they are serving their term at the prisons. She has therefore welcomed the Prisons Reform Project and urged Ghanaians to support it.
“The quest to reform our prisons is largely missing in our daily activities, so we are happy Sarfoa has dreamt about this challenge and drawn public attention to this menace. Otumfuo wants you to succeed in this endeavour so put out your best for Ashanti and Ghana to benefit”, she stressed and encouraged Sarfoa to forge ahead with the project which aims at reforming Ghana’s prisons” she said.
The Director-General of Ghana Prisons (DGP) Service, Mr. Isaac Kofi Egyir acknowledged that the situation on the ground at Ghana’s prisons is not the best and added that the challenge is not only associated with Ghana, but other African countries.
Much as the DGP admits the onerous mandate of the Service is to reform the inmates through educative programmes , he underscored that the prevailing situation at Ghana’s prisons is not the ‘best’.
“It is instructive to note that the mandate of the service is to safely keep inmates, reform and empower them to be law abiding and productive members of the society. But the situation on the ground today in Ghana and much of Africa is not serving the intended purpose,”
Nevertheless, he noted that the Ghana Prisons Service through the support of the Government is working hard towards fulfilling its mandate and requirements of other international instruments regulating the effective management of Prisons.
“The Service has significantly attended to the overcrowding menace which affects a high number of correctional facilities across the country. Through the Justice For All Programme , a joint initiative driven by the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s Department , the judicial service , the Ghana Prisons Service as well as the Police , the overcrowding problem has received much attention over the period,” he said.
On progress made by the Service in their quest to reform the inmates, DGP. Kofi Egyir announced: “The Service in partnership with University of Cape Coast (UCC) has begun tertiary level programmes for inmates at Nsawam Medium Security Prison.
Currently, 142 inmates are enrolled on the University of Cape Coast Diploma and Degree programmes. While nationwide ,1375 inmates are enrolled on the NVTI programmes , 670 enrolled in JHS level and 400 inmates on the SHS programmes ,275 are juveniles in custody at the SCC. 397 inmates have been registered nationwide to write their final examination by the close of the year.
He has therefore embraced the Sarfoa Project, saying: “Indeed my delight knows no bounds, that today more than ever before, to have a constraint of a beauty pageant select the Prisons Service as her choice of project, and who incidentally emerged the winner.
According to him, the Sarfoa Prisons Reform Project is a rare choice of domain many people would have opted for.
DGP Egyir subsequently expressed his profound gratitude of the entire staff as well as inmates of the Prison Service to the beauty queen for her compassionate choice to undertake a project which seeks to address some of the challenges confronting the Prisons establishment.
The event brought together stakeholders and section of the diplomatic community together on the need to address challenges at Ghana’s prisons.
