- Salutations
- The Honorable Minister for the Interior
- Honorable Minister for Greater Accra
- Director-General of Prisons
- Service Commanders
- Members of the Prisons Directorate
- Distinguished Invited Guests
- Senior and Junior Officers
- Members of the Media
- Ladies and Gentlemen
I am happy to be here once again, on behalf of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to participate in this graduation parade of officer cadets of the Ghana Prisons Service. Including this parade, I am informed that the President holds the enviable record of being the Reviewing Officer for three different graduation parades since assuming the Presidency in January 2017.
I believe that the smart turn-out and short but splendid display by the officer cadets has conveyed a good impression on us all. I would like us to give them a round applause for the splendid delay. I have no doubt that these energetic men and women must have invested long periods of effort and stamina into the preparations resulting in such a spectacular display. Please accept my warm commendation. I would like to extend same commendation to the Prisons Central Band for adding glamour to the parade.
Ladies and Gentlemen, today marks yet again the graduation and commissioning of two hundred and three (203) officer cadets comprising one hundred and fifty-seven (157) men and forty-six (46) women drawn from varied professional backgrounds ranging from Accounting, Agriculture, Education, Engineering, Medicine and Social Sciences.
These fields are very relevant to the operations of the Ghana Prisons Service and contribute immensely to fulfilling your constitutional mandate as well as helping comply with various international instruments bordering on Prisons management.
Distinguished Guests, the Ghana Prisons Service is an integral part of the security architecture of this country and an important facilitator to Criminal Justice delivery. The interdependence of the various components of the Criminal Justice System gives compelling reasons for Government to equitably resource these components to function effectively.
The recent recruitment of 2,000 young men and women into Ghana Prisons Service is thus part of various interventions by Government to strengthen the Service’ capacity to deliver on its mandate. This graduation parade being witnessed today is therefore a climax of six batches of new entrants from the unprecedented figure of 2000.
Ladies and gentlemen, Government remains poised and committed to providing the logistical and infrastructural requirements of the Service. It must be emphasized that, at the nascent stage of this Administration, a comprehensive programme to resource and retool the Ghana Prisons Service was tabled and the requirements of the Service with respect to operational vehicles and tools for inmates’ rehabilitation and reformation are being vigorously pursued to actualize all the objectives of this programme.
It is also pertinent to mention that funds were released for the continuation and completion of the remand prison at Nsawam as well as the first phase of the Maximum-Security Prison at Ankaful in the Central Region.
The contribution of faith-based organizations and corporate bodies to the growth and development of the Prisons Service in recent times is remarkable. Only a month ago, I was at Nsawam to commission a camp prison fully funded by the Church of Pentecost. It comes with complementary facilities such as an Infirmary, ICT Lab., Tailoring Workshop, Carpentry Workshop, Soccer and Volleyball pitches which besides enhancing the beauty of the Prison also helps to give true definition to its reformatory function.
I was pleased to note that, the newly commissioned Nsawam Camp Prison constitutes one of five Prisons being built by the Church of Pentecost. I have been informed two have been duly completed while another two are at various levels of completion. The last one which is going to be sited at Enchi in the Western Region awaits sod-cutting. Let me once again applaud and express my appreciation to the Chairman and leadership of the Church of Pentecost for this humane gesture.
I am also happy to note that, the Ghana Prisons Service continues to make strides in discharging its mandate of protecting the public by ensuring the safe custody of inmates, while also meeting their welfare needs and making efforts to help them reorganize their lives for the better.
I am proud of the major rehabilitation programmes the Service is undertaking in its quest to better equip inmates for life after prison. I am particularly elated with the agricultural enterprises being run by the Service as it points to effective measures being undertaken to complement feeding subvention from Government and by extension contributes also to enhancing food security in the country.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentleman, the collaboration with the University of Cape Coast to provide tertiary education to qualified inmates is a novelty worthy of commendation. I commend similar collaboration with the Ghana Education Service in introducing formal education, non-formal education and trade training programmes to support inmate rehabilitation in the Prisons.
Ladies and Gentlemen, in the light of the foregoing, I would like to encourage members of the general public to be more conscious of suspicious activities in their communities and workplaces. The task of maintaining a safe community cannot be left only to the security and law enforcement agencies. Let us endeavor to observe and report unusual activities and cooperate with the security agencies to fight crime and weed out these criminal elements from our communities. We should always be guided by the mantra ‘’see something, say something’’ and say something anytime we see something.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to seize this opportunity to emphasize the huge responsibilities the graduands will assume as commissioned officers especially during this period when Prisons Management is no longer only predicated on safe custody but also on welfare and reformation.
Ghanaians are expectant that the expertise and skills acquired during the period of training will be used to reinforce inmate welfare and reformation. The hallmark of any security or regimented institution is discipline and professionalism and I therefore entreat you to at all times abide by these tenets.
I also wish to admonish the serving officers to gladly receive these young ones into their fold and demonstrate exemplary conduct, while serving as good mentors and role models for the younger officers to emulate.
- As I acknowledge and commend the commandant, directing staff and instructors, I also wish to congratulate the graduating officer cadets for completing the training successfully, especially those who excelled and received various awards of recognition. I wish to particularly acknowledge three award winners:
Officer Cadet KPOGO MOSES ELORM KOMLA, winner of the commandant’s award, - Officer Cadet ANDOH CHARLES who is best in academic performance and
- Officer Cadet KLOTSEY DESIRE MAWUTOR who emerged the Best All Round Officer Cadet.
They have all been honored with plaques in recognition of their outstanding performance.
Finally, I have the pleasure to declare the graduands of Officer Cadet Course intake 30, duly commissioned into the senior corps of the Ghana Prisons Service.
Congratulations and may the Good Lord bless us all.
Thank you.
