The Vice President, Her Excellency Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, has urged newly commissioned officers of the Ghana Prisons Service to uphold hard work, discipline and professionalism in the discharge of their duties.
According to her, the humane treatment of inmates is not optional but a constitutional obligation and a core mandate of the Service that must guide their conduct at all times.
The Vice President was speaking at the graduation parade of Cadet Course Intake 33, 34 and 35 at the Prison Officers Training School, Fumso, in the Ashanti Region.
She congratulated the officers on the successful completion of their training and assured them of Government’s continuous commitment to improving staff welfare and conditions of service.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang noted that Government is working to reduce overcrowding in the country’s prisons, adding that the passage of the Community Service Act will significantly help decongest the prisons and promote non-custodial sentencing.
She disclosed that Government has provided tractors, fertilizers and other farm inputs to support prison agriculture as part of efforts to enhance food production and skills training for inmates.
The Vice President also appealed to Ghanaians to avoid stigmatizing ex-convicts and to support their reintegration into society after serving their sentences.
She was accompanied by the Hon. Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak and commended the leadership and personnel of the Ghana Prisons Service for their dedication and service to the nation.