Accra, March 26, GNA - The Deputy Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwaku Agyemang Manu, on Monday said plans were far advanced for funds to be provided to put the Prisons officers and inmates on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

He said due to some technical difficulties the Ghana Prisons Service had not been part of the NHIS, but those issues were being addressed vigorously to ensure that the inmates and the officers were not left out.

Addressing a conference of Regional Commanders of the Service in Accra, Mr Manu said government had made available three million dollars out of the six million dollars budget to purchase tools, machinery and equipment from South Africa to revamp industrial wing of the Service. The Regional Commanders conference is a platform for the officers to discuss developments in the service and fashion out strategies of improving their performance.

He said steps were being taken in Parliament to enable the Service to retain 60 per cent of their internally generated funds to sustain their workshops and improve the welfare of inmates as well as the officers.

Mr Manu stated that 116 officers of the rank of Sergeant were undergoing in-service training and would be followed by additional 400. He said 600 recruits were pending approval for training to commence. This effort, he said, shows government's commitment towards ensuring that the manpower needs of the Service were met for them to discharge their duty of manning the prisons effectively. The Deputy Minster urged the Prisons authorities to step up their agricultural activities by soliciting the service of extension officers to produce enough to feed inmates and officers to reduce dependency on government.

Mr Manu reminded the Regional Commanders to protect the rights of inmates as a way of humanising the penal system to conform to global standards of civilised conducts and contribute to social reforms.

The Director-General of Ghana Prisons Service, Mr William Asiedu said many governments over the years had neglected the service in terms of allocation of resources to cater for the needs of the inmates and the officers.

"We are being asked to scrounge living out of our poor infrastructure and the resource-less environment", he added. He was, however, full of praise for the introduction of a bill, which would enable them to retain 60 per cent of internally generated funds for administrative use.

"With the new dispensation the prisoners will have an earning scheme to help them build working capital which would start them off upon release," he added.

Mr Asiedu gave the assurance that the service would use its skills to revamp productivity of the service and further use their projects to provide for the needs of inmates and officers.