Accra, Nov 02, GNA – President John Agyekum Kufuor has given the approval for the immediate closure of James Fort Prisons in Accra and the relocation of inmates.
The exercise was in response to urgent calls by government and the Ghana Bar Association owning to the dilapidated nature of the prison structure and constant sea erosion of the building which posed a serious threat to both inmates and officers.
Twenty eight remanded female inmates were therefore transported to the Nsawam Prisons on Friday, leading to the total closure of the female ward.
DSP Gloria F. Dzadey, Chief Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Prisons Service told newsmen in Accra that the exercise would be carried out at a cost of 580,000 Ghana cedis (5.8 billion cedis). She said the Service had made the necessary arrangements to absolve the over 1000 inmates in other prisons, adding that security would also be beefed up to ensure their safe relocation.
DSP Dzadey said there was no cause for alarm in relation to how inmates would be transported to courts in Accra for prosecution, since that had also been well catered for.
Sergeant Johanne Lartey, an officer at the Prison’s Public Relations Unit told the Ghana News Agency that the James Forts Prisons would not be rehabilitated since attempts to do so over the years was not economical.
Source: GhanaWeb
