The Director-General of the Ghana Prison Service, Isaac Kofi Egyir, has disclosed that the institution spends GH¢ 1.80 to feed each prisoner daily.
He made this revelation during a hearing of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament in Accra.
Mr Egyir’s statement came in response to a question posed by Dr Clement Abas Apaak, a Member of PAC and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Bulsa South. Dr Apaak sought to ascertain the daily expenditure on feeding each inmate in the prison system.
Chairman of the PAC and NDC MP for Ketu North, Dr James Klutse Avedzi, expressed concern about the challenges of managing the situation with such a limited amount of GH¢ 1.80 per inmate.
In his response, Director-General Egyir explained, “We have farms all over the country, and it is our farms that have stood in since the problems of feeding arose. And this is what we are doing to complement the Government’s efforts in feeding the inmates.”
Dr Avedzi acknowledged the crucial role played by the farms in supporting the Prison Service’s feeding program. He emphasized that without the support from the farms, the Prison Service would face significant difficulties in providing meals for the inmates.
Madam Naana Eyiah, the Deputy Minister of the Interior, assured that the government would take action to address the issue of the GH¢ 1.80 allocated for feeding each prisoner.