Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak is advocating for private sector partnerships to boost agricultural production within Ghana’s Prisons Service and to enhance security measures.
The Minister outlined plans to engage inmates in cultivating prison-owned arable lands, aiming to provide food for the facilities and generate revenue.
He also announced intentions to establish an industrial hub within the prison system to create income-generating opportunities for inmates’ reformation.
Speaking to religious leaders in Kumasi, Mubarak urged them to support the government’s efforts in reforming inmates and highlighted the need for partnerships in prison agriculture.
He noted that only a small fraction of the inmate population is currently involved in farming due to limited resources. “We need partnerships… where, with the few inmates available, we can use machinery to till the land,” he stated.
Furthermore, the Minister announced the introduction of technology, including X-ray scanners and cameras, to combat drug trafficking within prisons, which are currently overcrowded, housing over 14,000 inmates in facilities designed for under 10,000.
He emphasized the vital role of the Prisons Service in rehabilitation and reintegration, underscoring the need for improved security measures.
