The Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Mrs. Patience Baffoe-Bonnie (ESQ), has warned that poor feeding remains one of the major causes of unrest in the country’s prisons, putting officers and national security at risk.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, September 30, she revealed that although the government has approved an upward adjustment of GHC5 per inmate daily for feeding, the funds are yet to be released.
Mrs. Baffoe-Bonnie explained that until recently, prison authorities had to manage GHC1.80 a day to feed each inmate, an amount she described as grossly inadequate.
“Once the feeding is wrong, it has ripple effects on health and every other thing; we are working assiduously to ensure the rules change. We are hopeful the GHC5 a day will be increased in the course of 2026 to reflect the feeding regime for a disgruntled adult, an angry adult behind bars,” she said.
She added that prison authorities currently rely on gardens, a small fish pond, and donations from churches to supplement food supplies. According to her, inadequate feeding often triggers riots, with prison officers becoming the first target before any intervention.
“We have to note on this platform that one of the things that is giving cause for inmates to riot is food. And so, we do everything within our means to ensure that as much as possible, we’re containing the inmates without the riots. Because if there are any riots, the poor prison officer becomes the first point of attack before any intervention,” she noted.
Beyond feeding, the Prisons Service Director-General called for broader reforms to improve prison conditions, stressing that inmate welfare is closely tied to public safety.
“If we want to have serious public safety in this country, we have to prioritise the needs of prisoners. Because they’re part of us, they will be with us, and we don’t know who will be our next guest,” she stated.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
