Prisons to be relocated

Accra, Sept. 16, GNA - Government has given approval for the relocation of a number of prisons because their current sites posed security threats to residents.

It has also initiated action on the construction of a second Medium Security Prison at Ankaful, where work has come to a standstill because of inadequate financial resources.

About three billion cedis would be needed to complete the Ankaful Prison.

Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Minister of The Interior, who was speaking at the Meet-The-Press Series in Accra on Tuesday, indicated that some prisons were located in areas considered as high commercial areas.

These include the Kumasi Central Prison, Maamobi Prison Complex and the Obuasi Prison.

The Minister said the relocation would lead to the building of modern prisons with all the amenities to promote the reformation and rehabilitation policy of the government.

Mr Owusu-Agyemang said discussions were underway to relocate the Maamobi Prison Complex, adding: "Adequate valuation would be conducted to arrive at a real value for the site. It is hoped that a concrete decision on this would be taken before the end of the year."

He said three new prison camps are to be established at Akaa in the Volta Region, Yeji in the Brong Ahafo Region and Forifori in the Eastern Region.

"Work on the Forifori Prison Camp has began in earnest," he said, adding that 190 million cedis had been released for the purpose.