The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has disclosed that the government spends about GHC40 million annually on feeding prison inmates, describing the amount as inadequate.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, May 28, during the presentation of a paper on the passage of the Community Service Bill, the minister said the cost of feeding inmates alone amounts to about GHC10 million every quarter.
“The cost of maintaining them, in fact, feeding them alone, requires GHC10 million a quarter, and so annually we have to feed them with GHC40 million. Mr Speaker, even the GHC40 million, woefully inadequate,” he said.
Mr. Muntaka noted that even the current allocation falls short of providing adequate meals for inmates.
He, however, commended President John Dramani Mahama and the Finance Ministry for increasing the prison feeding ration from GHC1.80 pesewas to GHC5.
“Even with that GHC5, Mr Speaker, we believe that that is woefully inadequate to feed an adult,” he stated.
The Interior Minister compared the prison feeding allocation to the school feeding programme, where caterers receive about GHC4.50 per meal for children in basic schools.
“If you take into consideration school feeding, caterers are giving about 4.50 pesewas for a meal for children in basic schools. Now we give GHC5 for adults for three meals,” he added.
Source:Fiilafmonline/CitiNews
