GOIL assists Ghana Prisons Service

The Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) on Wednesday presented items worth GH?15, 000.00 to the James Camp Prison located at Roman Ridge in Accra.

The James Camp Prison was established in 1948 and has been the home to inmates who had served the bulk of their sentences in high security prisons like Nsawam and are left with few months to be released.

The items presented included bags of rice, gallons of cooking oil, detergents and disinfectants; and sporting items including jerseys, footballs, volley balls, tennis balls and their raquettes.

Speaking at the presentation, Assistant Director of Prisons (ADP) Robin Asamoah Fenning, Officer in Charge, James Camp Prison, expressed concern about the reluctance on the part of some family members to help reintegrate ex-convicts into the society.

He said as part of their reintegration process, the prisoners are engaged in rearing of rabbits, grass cutters, and poultry.

He said others are trained in other vocations like carpentry and cobbler all in an effort to help them fully reintegrate into the society when they leave the prison.

He called on parents to do well to monitor the activities of their children in order to advise them to stay off trouble.

ADP Fenning expressed appreciation to GOIL for the gesture and urged other cooperate entities to come to the aid of the inmates.

Deputy Superintendent of Prisons (DSP), Vitalis A-iyeh Chief Public Relations Officer, Ghana Prisons Service, said the main aim of the prison system is to serve as a correctional institution for offenders of the law and not to punish them hence the need for the society to ensure that inmates are well catered for.

He said there about 15,000.00 prisoners in the country and cited congestion as one of the main challenges facing the nation’s prisons.

DSP A-iyeh said a room which was meant to contain about 20 people is now housing about 90 people and this did not augur well for the health of the inmates.

He said it also means people that who have committed less offences end up fraternising with hardened criminals.

Mrs Rosemond Awotwi Frimpong, Head, Corporate Affairs, GOIL, said company considers cooperate social responsibility a national duty and would continue to demonstrate Ghanaian hospitality to other institutions and facilities of the service.

She said GOIL remains one of the forerunners in the state-owned enterprises sector and the petroleum industry in general.