RELIGIOUS BODIES MUST SHOW COMMITMENT TO PRISONERS (PAGE 22, JAN 10)

THE Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Prisons Service, Mrs Florence Yeboah Acheampong, has called on religious bodies that constitute the Prisons Ministry to show commitment to the welfare of prisoners.
While acknowledging the annual interdenominational church services and presentation of food items as well as the intermittent visits to minister the word of God to the inmates, Mrs Acheampong expressed the conviction that the Prisons Ministry could do more to aid the reformation process of the inmates.
She said this during an interdenominational church service held for the inmates of the Navrongo Prison by the Prisons Ministry.
In addition to sharing the word of God with the inmates, the Prisons Ministry also distributed some assorted food items such as biscuits, fruit drink, and soap worth GH¢150.00 to the inmates.
Mrs Acheampong decried the failure of the churches constituting the Prisons Ministry to come together as a unit to support the authorities of the Navrongo Prisons.
She also chided the ministry for failing to honour a pledge to provide the facility with a multi-purpose shed.
According to her, the absence of the shed and the harsh climatic conditions characterised by high temperatures made life very uncomfortable for the inmates.
The Regional Chairman of the Prisons Ministry, Mr Vincent Chaitey, said the work of the ministry in the Navrongo Prison had not gone without challenges since its inauguration in 1999.
He mentioned the failure of full-time pastors to make time to preach to the inmates as some of the challenges facing the group.
He seized the opportunity to appeal to the leadership of the churches in the region to respond positively to the call.
He also renewed his appeal to interested stakeholders including churches and municipal assemblies as well as the general public to come to the aid of the Ministry in its efforts to acquire training facilities for the Navrongo Prison to enable the inmates to acquire skills before they went out.
“It is wrong for people to spend five to 10 years in prison and come out without learning a trade,” he said.