An ex-convict who served time at the Nsawam Prison in the Greater Accra Region has shed light on some atrocities taking place at the correctional facility.
In an interview on Onua TV’s Maakye, the male ex-con indicated that a portion of food items provided by government to be used to cook for prisoners are sold to inmates.
He noted that amidst the hunger situation and the provision of appalling meals, prison officers sell a number of ingredients to inmates who are responsible for cooking at the facility.
“They give us porridge made with maize. Later, they bring us soup with banku. Several kinds of soup, such as palm nut soup, light soup. It is not the regular soup you eat outside.
They grind beans into powder and then add it to water, then add small quantity of Groundnut. There is nothing inside. The onions and pepper brought for cooking, they sell it. The officers sell the ingredients to those who cook at the yard. There is hunger in Nsawam prison,” the ex-con narrated.
Aside from selling food provisions, some prison officers allegedly hoard food items to take home.
The nutrition of inmates is a challenge currently facing the Ghana Prison Service. The current daily feeding fee for prisoners is GHS1.80 and according to the Prisons Service, this is woefully inadequate to provide adequate meals for inmates.
The Prison Service has therefore called on the government to review the feeding allowance to reflect the current living conditions in the country.