Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has called for comprehensive reforms to Ghana’s
prison system, with greater emphasis on rehabilitation, inmate welfare and reintegration into society.
In reflections shared through his spokesperson, Dr Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, on Tuesday, October 27, Mr Boasiako said the correctional system needed structural changes to address longstanding challenges and improve conditions for inmates.
He argued that prisons should serve not only as places of punishment but also provide the support and interventions needed to help inmates reform.
“Not all prisoners are prisoners,” he said, emphasising the need to consider inmates’ individual circumstances and welfare.
Chairman Wontumi called for a proper classification system to prevent remand prisoners and people accused of different offences from being housed together without adequate consideration of their circumstances.
He also advocated counselling and psychological support for inmates, particularly young men held for prolonged periods in connection with defilement cases. In his remarks, he raised concerns about the effects of extended incarceration without adequate counselling.
Beyond rehabilitation, he called for improved healthcare and accommodation for inmates, better conditions of service for prison officers, and measures to address overcrowding and the spread of infectious diseases in correctional facilities.
He further urged the government to invest in prison agriculture, arguing that the Ghana Prisons Service had extensive land and skilled labour that could support food production if provided with adequate equipment.
Chairman Wontumi also appealed to Parliament to lead comprehensive prison reforms, including the passage of a new Prison Reform Act and the approval of funding for improved infrastructure and essential services.
He called on parliamentary committees responsible for Defence and Interior, Health, and Food and Agriculture to visit prisons nationwide to assess conditions and identify areas requiring urgent intervention.
