The Ghana Prisons Service has secured 30% of Ghana Education Service contracts for sewing and carpentry but says inadequate industrial facilities are hampering its ability to translate inmates’ vocational training into sustainable livelihoods.
The Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, disclosed this while appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, October 20.
She said the Service was working to strengthen its rehabilitation programme by creating opportunities for inmates to apply their skills in commercial production and earn a living after their release.
According to her, although inmates have received training in tailoring, carpentry and other trades for years, limited access to industries and production facilities has made it difficult to demonstrate the economic value of those skills.
“We have earned 30% of Ghana Education Service contracts for sewing and carpentry,” she said, adding that the Service needed factories to undertake the production.
Mrs Baffoe-Bonnie said the Prisons Service had secured land at Nsawam and planned to establish an industrial facility that would initially focus on sewing security uniforms, wood manufacturing and producing prefabricated chairs and tables.
She explained that the proposed facility would help the Service expand production, create practical employment opportunities for inmates and demonstrate how vocational training could support their reintegration into society.
The Director-General also acknowledged that funding for reformation and rehabilitation had historically been inadequate, although a dedicated budget line had now been introduced.
She noted that vocational training often involves significant material wastage, particularly in the early stages of learning, further limiting the impact of the available resources.
Mrs Baffoe-Bonnie therefore appealed for additional funding and logistical support to establish the necessary production facilities, saying this would help the Service measure the impact of its rehabilitation programmes and improve inmates’ prospects of earning a livelihood after release.
