Prisons Service commended for Covid-19 initiatives

 

The facilitators of the ‘Justice for All’ programme, POS Foundation, has commended the Ghana Prison Service for its initiatives in the adoption of Coronavirus (Covid-19) protocols to safeguard the country’s prisons and inmates.

The Executive Director of POS Foundation, Jonathan Osei Owusu, commended the Service for ensuring the safety and proper wellbeing of inmates in prisons across the country, amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

Mr Osei Owusu said this while donating items to the service a few days ago. He said: “The Coronavirus pandemic could have a grave impact on the prisons in case of a possible outbreak of the virus across various prisons in Ghana, especially due to their high congestion rate and poor ventilation, coupled with the lack of a balanced diet from the feeding grant of GH¢0.80 per day.”

Mr Owusu, therefore, appealed to the government to provide adequate incentives and contagious disease allowance for prison officers for the dedication, professionalism and health risk taken in these crucial times.

“We entreat the prisons authorities and all officers to safeguard the good record and continuously adhere to the strict protocols. Though there is a gradual easing of restrictions by the state for the public, they must remain resolute as we celebrate their success story. We call on other organisations to come to the aid of prisons, as these items are shared with prison inmates, prison officers and visitors,” he noted.

The Executive Director of POS noted that congestion at the prisons was a serious challenge, as the Nsawam Prisons, which has a capacity of 815, now accommodates close to 3,305 prisoners, while the Kumasi Central Prisons is holding 1,880 against its authorised capacity of 800.

This also notwithstanding, with the prevailing challenges confronting the Service, the situation has been very well managed across the various prisons in Ghana due to the pragmatic approach adopted by the authorities since the outbreak.

The outbreak of the Covide-19 has compounded the situation making the management of the prisons an uphill task.

“Fortunately for Ghana, the professionalism, strict adherence to precautionary security protocols and contingency plans put in place by Ghana Prisons Service, which include a health alert communicated regularly to the inmates, have worked to prevent and contain the spread of [the] Covid-19,” he observed.

According to him, the only case recorded so far in prison was that of a new inmate admitted to the Ankaful Maximum Prison, which is among the seven prisons across the country designated to receive new admissions for monitoring before inmates are transferred to a traditional prison.

The Foundation, together with its funding agencies, German Cooperation (GlZ) and Open Society Foundation (OSIWA), under the Covid-19 Prisons Response Outreach Project, donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Items donated include Vitamin C, Veronica buckets, automated hand-washing machines, liquid soap, bins, tissue, gloves, food items worth GH¢41,000 to the Kumasi Central Prisons, and a cheque for GH¢2,000 to be used as transportation for onward distribution of some items to the Manhyia and Amanfrom prisons.

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