President John Dramani Mahama has announced a set of prison reforms set to be undertaken by his administration. The Prison service in Ghana is swaddled with several challenges, including overcrowding, poor infrastructure facilities and limited resources, which mostly affect their feeding.

The conditions in Ghana’s prisons are generally reported as unfavourable, prompting President Mahama’s announcement of a reform agenda.

Speaking at the commissioning of the Damongo Prison Camp on Wednesday, November 5, he mentioned that, “it rests on a fundamental belief that no Ghanaian should be stripped of their humanity, even when they are in prison. We're therefore implementing far-reaching reforms”.

He also added that there will be an “expansion of the use of alternative sentencing for minor and non-violent offences; reviewing bail conditions to avoid undue hardship, especially for the poor; introducing a parole system to reward good behaviour and accelerate reintegration”.

Mostly in Ghana, it is a reported challenge that many governments tend to abandon or delay projects started by their predecessors, especially when there is a change in political leadership. The president, Mahama, during his first term, began the construction of an 800-inmate capacity remand prison at Tamale in 2014. It stalled in 2016 due to funding issues and political discontinuity after the change of government, leaving it incomplete to this day.

However, President Mahama has announced that his government will complete the facility and develop a modern correctional centre for men, women and juveniles.

“...completing the 800-inmate capacity remand prison at Tamale initiated by my previous administration in 2016, which has been left abandoned...”, he added.

While their facilities are being improved, the condition of service for the officers is also set for a change.

“We're enhancing the conditions of service for our prison officers, modernising prison infrastructure, and expanding rehabilitation programs connected to sustainable livelihood and employment after release,” President Mahama added.

Additionally, conditions of service for officers are to be enhanced, and the expansion and rehabilitation programmes connected to sustainable livelihoods and employment after release.

“The Prison Service will contribute to the 24-hr economy policy by running prison enterprises, including manufacturing, sewing school uniforms, agro processing to generate income for the Service and prepare inmates for life after prison,” he stressed.

Speaking on the church’s contribution to building the society, President Mahama lauded the Church of Pentecost’s gesture, highlighting that it was a demonstration of what could be achieved if faith-based organisations partnered with the State in its development drive.

“It affirms the timeless truth that nation building is not the sole responsibility of the government but the collective moral endeavour of all who believe in the inherent dignity and potential of every human being,” President Mahama underlined.

In the view of the President, faith involves more than worship as it encompasses practical compassion and transformative action.

“We’ve all shown that when we work together, Ghana works better,” the President said, adding that the facility would serve as a sanctuary for rehabilitation, a centre for a second chance at life and a workshop to transform lives.

The Damongo facility is the third correctional centre being built by the Church of Pentecost and forms part of its safety and security project under the ‘Possessing the Nations Agenda’, focused on constructing state-of-the-art facilities in selected locations across the country.

“From our ministry’s perspective, transformation involves both conversion of souls and society through the Gospel. This is because, as we all know, human beings are not isolated individuals but persons in communities embedded in complex socio-economic structures,” Apostle Eric Nyamekye, the Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, noted.

He said the Church considers the agenda as the “Kingdom project” designed not only to save souls but to foster the transformation of society and pursue the incarcerated, which humans call sinners.

“For us, sinners are our clients. And we look for them wherever they can be found. Our objective as a church is to redeem their souls for heaven, empower them, facilitate their transformation and ultimately reintegrate them as productive members of society,” he added.

The facility is equipped with quarters, classrooms, a workshop, health care units, and digital learning facilities.

Before President Mahama’s proposed reforms, Ghana’s courts often imposed custodial sentences even for misdemeanours such as petty theft or minor fraud. According to research conducted by Dalhousie University in April 2019, offenders for minor offences mostly serve up to 3 years' jail term. Conditions of bail, such as high sureties or cash deposits, become a challenge, particularly for the poor or disadvantaged, keeping them in custody while the relatively advantaged suspects secured release.

Also, the parole system in Ghana was not properly structured. Ghana did not have an official, structured program or legal process that allowed prisoners to be released early under supervision for good behaviour or rehabilitation progress. Prisoners served full sentences unless granted a presidential pardon or remission

Parole is a system of conditional release from prison before the full sentence is served, allowing an inmate to re-enter society under supervision. Female inmates are housed in dedicated wings of major prisons like the Nsawam Female Prison. Facilities remain limited and often overcrowded.

Ghana has only one Senior Correctional Centre for young male offenders in Accra, and one Juvenile Correctional Centre for females managed by Social Welfare. These centres provide vocational training and education, but are few in number and under-resourced.

In a related development, President Mahama, on August 18, granted amnesty to 998 prisoners across Ghana’s correctional facilities, marking the first major exercise of the presidential prerogative of mercy under his current administration.

The move was in accordance with Article 72 (1) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, which empowers the President to grant amnesty in consultation with the Council of State. The offenders were released based on consultations and recommendations from the Prisons Service Council. The president granted amnesty to 998 inmates out of 1,014 recommended.

The beneficiaries of the president’s pardon include 787 first-time offenders, 36 elderly inmates over 70, 33 seriously ill prisoners, and 2 nursing mothers. He also commuted 87 death sentences to life imprisonment, reduced 51 life sentences to 20 years, and approved 2 special petitions.