By Jones Anlimah
The Volta Regional Command of the Prisons Service, has appealed to POS Foundation, a non-governmental organization, and a lead facilitator of the Justice for All Programme and in the Advocacy for the Community Service Law to include the Ho Central Prisons in its Virtual Court to assist remand prisoners get justice. This according to the Regional Commander, Deputy Director of Prisons, Martin Darku will reduce the overcrowding in the facility. The Ho central prison has a total of 415 inmates instead of its ideal capacity size for 150 inmates. The Volta Regional Commander made the appeal when POS Foundation presented some Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and some medications to the Ho Central Prisons.
Ghana has joined the rest of the world in the fight against the COVID-19 virus by putting in place preventive and restrictive measures while embarking on consistent research to find a vaccine to eradicate the virus. In countries where the corona virus has caused major harm to human lives so far, prisons have been a substantial hit for its spread and presents a focus for reform. In the state of California in the USA, 381 people were released from the Santa Rita jail, while Iran made history by temporarily releasing about 54,000 prisoners to contain the spread of COVID 19.
In Ghana President Akufo Addo granted amnesty to about 800 prisoners across the country in consultation with the Council of State and the Prisons Council and in accordance with Article 72(1) of the 1992 Constitution. Notwithstanding the prevailing challenges confronting prisons in the country, there has not been minimal case of reported COVID 19 in any of the country’s prisons. This is due to the pragmatic approach adopted by the Ghana Prisons Service since the outbreak of the pandemic.
POS Foundation and its partner, COVID-19 Grassroots Justice Fund have therefore decided to assist prisons in Ghana the country to further better manage the situation to avoid any infection of the pandemic. Presenting the items, the Executive Director of the Foundation, Mr. Jonathan Osei Owusu commended authorities of the Prisons Service for managing the situation well to prevent any infection by inmates. He appealed to President Akufo Addo, to grant amnesty to petty drug offenders who are serving jail time for drug use in order to decongest the country’s prisons in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Volta Regional Commander of the Prisons Service, Deputy Director of Prisons, Martin Darku who received the items on behalf of inmates was appreciative for the gesture as it was timely. He called on other benevolent organizations to come to their aid amidst the Covid 19 as there is too much congestion in the facility.
Items donated to the service included Nose masks, Gallon of Sanitizers, Veronica Buckets, Liquid soaps, toilet rolls, bags of sachet water and medical supplies to be use in the infirmary which have been upgraded to a health Centre.
Read Also: Justice for All Programme
