By Juliet Mettle-Edmonds
Inmates at the various Prisons across the country will now be empowered to rebuild their lives, support their families, and contribute positively to their communities when they are released from Prison.
This will be made possible under the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Training Programme (NEIP) for the prisons launched in Accra on Wednesday. After the training, the inmates will be given ‘starter packs’ to set them up on a path to a self-sustaining and income-generating enterprise.
The inmates will receive starter packs which are intense to set them up on a path to a self-sustaining and income-generating enterprise.
Our prisons should not only be institutions of punishment, but also space for rehabilitation and redemption restoration. By empowering inmates with vocational skills and entrepreneurial knowledge, it will not only equip them for a brighter future but also foster their reintegration into society as productive citizens.
Prison Officers and Inmates will benefit from the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Training Programme (NEIP). The Restoration Programme which will empower and rebuild the lives of inmates, and contribute positively to their communities upon their release comes with starter packs.
Similarly, inmates who have more time to do in prison will also be given similar packages to enable them to ply their skills in prison, culminating into some form of earning scheme for themselves as well as the Prison Service.
The beneficiary will be taken through light manufacturing including soap and detergent making, grains and cereals, processing and packaging, production of local nonalcoholic drinks, production of yoghurt and edible oils from palm oil and coconut oil, and cosmetics making.
The soaps and detergents produced will help improve on the hygiene and wellbeing of inmates, help reduce diseases and skin rashes, while the various food and drinks products will also help improve on the diets of inmates and their overall health.
It will help reduce the resources the government spends to provide detergents and food products to inmates, while the Prisons will also generate some money from the sale of these packaged products.
The Director General of the Ghana Prison Service, Mr. Isaac Kofi Egyir said the initiative set the tone for the introduction of many more remarkable interventions targeted at improving the lives of the inmates.
‘The contribution inmates’ rehabilitation makes to public safety through empowering them with vocational skills cannot be downplayed. It is often said that ‘idle hands are the devil’s workshop’.
If this statement is anything to go by, then inculcating in inmates sustainable and livelihood skills significantly limits their chances of re-offending when they get discharged since they would be devoting ample time to ply their trade and earning an income.
The Deputy Finance Minister in Charge of Wealth Creation Dr. John Ampontuah Kumah said the program will unlock their potential to become self-reliant and contribute to the development of the Nation. He called on business leaders, organizations, to collaborate with the Prison to help sustain the programme.
The CEO of NEIP Mr. Kofi Ansah promised NEIP will collaborate with the Ghana Standard Authority and Food and Drugs Authority to approve these products for the market. According to him, it will help contribute to the Government’s overall import substitution programme where the Country is able to replace imported products with locally produced ones which have Made in Ghana labels.
The Minister of Interior, Mr. Ambrose Derry said the lack of a rehabilitation programme in addressing the plight of inmates calls for concern among stakeholders and policymakers.
Equipment needed to start production were displayed. Over 800 inmates from five prisons will be initially enrolled on the programme.