Nsawam: Skills Acquisition, Vocational, Reformation Camp For 320 Prisoners Commissioned | Social

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Saturday, October 22, 2022 as a part of his three-day tour of the Eastern Region commissioned the Nsawam Skills Acquisition, Vocational and Reformation Camp Prison.

The edifice contains totally furnished 320-capacity dormitory blocks for the inmates, a abilities coaching middle in carpentry, tailoring, a state-of-the-art ICT Lab, Administration block, a Chapel (which shall additionally function classroom), a Kitchen , a eating corridor, laundry, inmates' washrooms, seven sentry posts, two mechanised boreholes, places of work, an infirmary, a guests' lounge, a store, CCTV Installations, and different ancillary and leisure amenities.

Constructed by the Church of Pentecost, in furtherance of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) detailing the respective roles of the Ghana Prisons Service and The Church of Pentecost, that is the second to be commissioned, after the maiden one at Ejura was handed over to the Ghana Prisons Service a 12 months in the past.

Addressing the gathering, President Akufo-Addo acknowledged that “this is an example of the collaboration between the Church of Pentecost and the government. We saw it during the height of the COVID crisis, when the church made available its facilities in the Gomoa Fetteh area, and also organized food for the needy at the time. It shows the commitment of this church towards contributing to resolving the socio-economic problems of our nation. All Ghanaians should therefore join me in saying a big 'ayekoo' to them.”

He indicated that “the church of Pentecost, by what it has done here today, has demonstrated exceptional leadership in its desire to maintain and grow a partnership with the state to address the problems of our nation. The second of such facilities that are being constructed by the Church of Pentecost, and there are 3 others as Apostle Nyamekye indicated in the pipeline, per my understanding, and at least 2 of them will be commissioned by the end of this year.”

He stated, “I can say with confidence that this ceremony is the highlight of my 3-day working visit to the region. I say so because we're witnessing today, a very important example of the collaboration that we seek in this country, between government and several stakeholders in our nation, civil society organizations, faith-based organizations and independent institutions in our nation.”

“Apostle, your leadership of the church has already been commended by the General secretary, I want to add my voice to that commendation, about the sterling work that you're doing in the name of Christ and the Christian community in our country, it's exceptional and we must recognize it.”

Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, stated, the Ejura Prison camp challenge constructed final 12 months is already yielding some dividends. Currently, thirty-six (36) inmates are being skilled in numerous trades (Tailoring, Kente Weaving, Leatherworks, Carpentry, and Metalworks). An excellent variety of the inmates have already been skilled on the workshop and have since been discharged.

He stated this imaginative and prescient of the Church “is hinged on a three-pronged approach, one of which is partnering with Government for the socio-economic development of the nation. As a church, we believe that we have not only been called to worship God but to also serve God's purpose within the society. It is from such a conviction that we are gathered here to commission this prison camp project,” he added.

Apostle Nyamekye famous that “prison overcrowding is one key contributing factor to poor prison conditions around the world. It is also arguably the biggest single problem facing prison systems. Such overcrowding and associated challenges prevent prisons from fulfilling their proper functions.”

The Ghana Prisons Service, he acknowledged, is experiencing acute overcrowding in its holding amenities throughout the nation. Available statistics on the time of crafting our imaginative and prescient 2023 strategic doc in 2018, indicated an overcrowding price of fifty.43% (ie, 50.43% past the conventional capability).”

“As of last Thursday, 20th October 2022, there were a total of 14,957 inmates in our prisons, as against the maximum capacity of 9,850. Using the Nsawam medium security prisons as a case in point, Mr. President, this holding facility was built to hold a total of 850 prisoners, but currently, the facility is holding 3,187 prisoners. This represents over 275% above the required capacity.”