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The Minister of Designate for the Interior, Muntaka Mubarak, has emphasized the necessity of creative solutions to address Ghana’s prison overcrowding.
In his vetting speech before the Appointments Committee of Parliament, Mubarak suggested looking into public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a long-term fix for the problem.
“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” Muntaka said.
In order to make these collaborations possible, Mubarak highlighted the unrealized potential of using prime areas that are owned by specific authorities. He proposed that these properties could be traded for brand-new, updated prisons constructed via PPP or charitable donations.
The Minister Designate stressed the significance of correctly classifying and separating prisoners in addition to addressing infrastructure issues.
“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 added.
Muntaka said that public confidence in Ghana’s law enforcement agencies has been shattered by the mounting outcry against police brutality and extortion.
Muntaka suggested a rule that would mandate that all police officers wear and turn on a body camera whenever they go out on official business in order to address the problem.
Muntaka informed the Committee that police encounters with the public will be captured on camera in an unbiased and unfiltered manner.
He asserted that this will lessen ambiguity in situations where police conduct is questioned.
“We will ensure that if you are a police officer and you have to step out, then you have your body camera on to take away all the ambuigity and the troubles because when you put the body camera on, everywhere you are, you are being recorded.
“So that when you are on the road extorting money and brutalise others, it will show and record whatever the police officer is doing.”
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
