The Deputy Minister for The Interior, Naana Eyiah Quansah, has advised personnel of the Ghana Prisons Service to work diligently as the country nears its presidential and parliamentary elections.
She said they were expected to uphold professionalism and promote peace in the discharge of their duties to help consolidate the country’s democratic gains in the fourth republic, before, during and after the elections.
Mrs Quansah who is also the Member of Parliament for Gomoah Central, gave the advice at the 2023 Annual Dinner Dance of the Greater Accra Senior Officers of the Service held on Saturday night in Accra.
It was a night of excitement and merry making as the senior reformers, alongside other guests, converged to wine, dine and dance, after a year of hard work and service.
Mrs Quansah commended the personnel of the Service for their dedication to work during the past year and urged them to continue serving the country with all their might.
She acknowledged the critical role the service played in the Criminal Justice System of the country and their contribution to the maintenance of internal security and Reformation and Rehabilitation of convicts.
In his welcome address, the Director-General of Prisons, Director General of Prisons, Isaac Kofi Egyir, praised the staff for their hard work in the year under review despite the difficulties involved in their work.
Reflecting on some successes accomplished, he said, through self-help and sponsorship drives, some projects, including multipurpose hall, staff office, paralegal office, and AstroTurf pitch were at various stages of completion at different prisons across the country.
He said the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons and Senior Corrections Centre had been accredited as a centre for Technical and Vocational Educational Training for both inmates and officers.
On inmate rehabilitation and education, Mr Egyir said, inmates who sat for last year’s West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) scored 100 per cent passes and were pursuing various courses in universities through distance learning.
Similarly, the Director-General of Prisons said, those who wrote the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) excelled with seven of them attending Senior High Schools (SHS).
He said more than 1000 senior and junior staff of the service who qualified for promotion were elevated to the next rank, in recognition of their hard work and commitment.
“I want to encourage you to continue to strive for excellence and bring your best selves to work each day. There are a lot of work and targets to be achieved. Let us remain untied once again to make the service even more successful and continue to give hope to the public”, he said.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
