Muntaka Mubarak, the Minister of Designate for the Interior, has highlighted the need for innovative approaches to tackle prison congestion in Ghana.
Speaking during his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee, Mubarak proposed the exploration of public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a sustainable solution to the long-standing issue.
He stated, “We need to also be exploring public-private partnerships. I know that most prisons in America are private. People build a prison, and the government rents it as a way of decongesting, while ensuring all security concerns are addressed and maintaining the national security strategy. They build it to meet the required standards, and then the government rents.”
Mubarak emphasized the untapped potential of leveraging prime lands owned by certain agencies to facilitate these partnerships. He suggested these lands could be used in exchange for new, modernized prison facilities built through either benevolence or PPP arrangements.
In addition to addressing infrastructure challenges, the Minister Designate underscored the importance of proper classification and separation of inmates. “The prisons are in categories – maximum, medium, and others. We need to ensure that these separations are properly done to avoid suffocation and overcrowding,” he explained.
