Muntaka vows to reform Ghana Prisons

The Minister-Designate for the Interior, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, has pledged to prioritise prison reform if his nomination is approved by Parliament.

Speaking during his vetting before the Parliament, the Asawase legislator stated that the budget allocated for feeding prison inmates are woefully inadequate and also raised concerns about the bad nature of Ghana’s Prisons.

He described the GH¢1.80 daily feeding budget per prisoner, as greatly insufficient and inhumane, adding that even cats and dogs in various homes in the country cannot survive on that amount.

“I was shocked when I heard that the rationing for feeding a prisoner in Ghana is GH¢1.80 for the whole day and I doubt with the greatest of respect that even the cats and dogs in our houses, how much food do we give them that we will put our own compatriots because of one mistake or the other, in trying to corect them, we feed them with GH¢1.80 and expect them to be healthy.?” he quizzed.

The Asawase Member of Parliament expressed worry over health implications of such poor nutrition, especially at the place where inmates are vulnerable to contagious diseases due to the congestion and unsanitary conditions.

He pledged to improve the feeding budget of prisons in the country under his tutelage.

Many civil society and organisations, including the Ghana Prisons Service have on.many occasion appesled to government to intervene and address these issues, but all have proven futile.