Minister of the Interior, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, has called for private partnerships to enhance agricultural initiatives within Ghana’s Prisons Service.
According to him, inmates will be engaged in cultivating arable lands owned by the Service, a move that will not only provide food for the prisons but also generate revenue.
Additionally, the minister disclosed plans to establish an industrial hub within the prison system to create income-generating opportunities for inmates while they undergo reformation.
Speaking during a meeting with the clergy in Kumasi on Thursday, April 3, he urged religious groups to support the government’s efforts in reforming inmates.
“We are calling for partnership in two things. We have what we call the prison agriculture process, where we have good arable lands with facilities, but we cannot till them ourselves. Out of the 14,000 prisoners we have, we can use only 8% of them, and those are the ones currently involved in farming.
“The number is inadequate, so we need partnerships. Whether it is the church, let’s have an agreement where, with the few inmates available, we can use machinery to till the land,” he stated.
In addition to agricultural development, the minister announced the introduction of technology in prisons to curb drug trafficking within the facilities.
“The Prisons Service plays a vital role in rehabilitating offenders and reintegrating them into society, but it faces significant hurdles. Our facilities, originally designed for just 9,945 inmates, now hold over 14,000, stretching our resources. It is shameful to say that we do not even have X-ray scanners in our prison service.
“As a result, our prisons have become centres for drug trafficking because those who go in and out are not properly searched. There have to be proper X-ray scanners so that as people walk in, we will know what they are carrying in and out. To solve this, we are trying to introduce technology by installing scanners and cameras across the prison sector to monitor inmate activities effectively,” he stated.
