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| Ghana media highlight congestion in prisons, contract to local textile companies
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Accra, Ghana (PANA) -
The Ghanaian media this week highlighted the congestion in
the country's prisons and the decision of the government to award the manufactu
r
e of fabrics for a project to supply free school uniforms to local textile manuf
a
cturers.
The state-owned Graphic, in its headline: â?Congestion worsens in countryâ?s p
risonsâ?, quoted the 2008 annual report of the Ghana Prisons Service, where it n
oted that the rate of congestion in Ghanaâ?s prisons worsened last year due to i
ncreasing population.
It said the cumulative prison population jumped by 5.9 per cent to 5,170,840 in
2008 from 4,867,306 in 2007, with an average daily lock-up of 14,128.
The report cited a high incidence of re-offending among ex-convicts as a contrib
utory factor to the increasing prisoner population.
"Of the 9,377 convicted prisoners admitted in 2008, a total of 1,808 of them, re
presenting 19.3 per cent, had been previously convicted.â?
The Graphic said 8,315 or 88.7 per cent of convicts admitted during the year wer
e aged between 18 and 45 years.
â?The youthful nature of the prison population is highlighted in the report in
relation to overcrowding with an emphasis on the need to expand facilities for m
o
re effective education and training of the inmates to make them productive.â?
The most frequent offence committed by prisoners in 2008 was stealing, which inc
reased from 3,155 in 2007 to 4,263 in 2008.
The media, quoting the Textile, Garment and Leather Employees Union of the Ghana
Trades Union Congress, claimed that the Ministry of Education had awarded the c
o
ntract to supply fabrics for free school uniforms to primary school children to
a
Chinese company.
The government promptly denied the story and moved quickly to assure the textile
companies, which have been in limbo for several years because of cheap import o
f
Chinese fabric, that it would support their recovery.
Vice President John Dramani Mahama met the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI)
and the Textile, Garment and Leather Employees' Union at the Castle, Osu, in Ac
c
ra on Wednesday, to announce the government's decision.
â?It's a done deal; All materials to be procured locally â" Veepâ?, was the h
eadline of the Graphic.
It said the government had decided to locally procure all materials for its scho
ol uniforms programme for pupils of public schools.
Subsequently, it said, this would be extended to other institutions, such as the
police, military and para-military institutions throughout the country.
The Graphic said Mahama directed the local textile producers to meet with the Mi
nistry of Education and work out the modalities regarding the cost, adding that
t
he government would apply for a 15 per cent tax waiver from Parliament to enable
the textile industries
produce the materials and meet the deadline.
The state-owned Ghanaian Times had the heading â?Ghana-made police uniformâ?.
It said the government had now taken the decision to, within the short to medium
term, source locally made fabrics for the production of uniforms for public ins
t
itutions such as the security agencies.
The Mahama also declared that all the fabrics to be used for the free school uni
form programme would be sourced locally.
He said government was committed to fully engage the local companies for the uni
form programme.
The Times also gave prominence to Ghana's protest over the assault of its ambass
ador in Guinea.
Under the headline: â?Ghana demands explanation from Guinea for assault on her
Ambassadorâ?, the Times said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integr
ation had demanded an explanation from the Guinean government for the attack on
A
mbassador Dominic Aboagye by the Guinean security forces.
It said the ministry had also asked the Guinean government to take the necessary
measures to protect the ambassador and his staff from further harassment.
A press statement issued by the ministry said: â?The Ministry of Foreign Affair
s and Regional Integration has taken a very serious view of this unfortunate inc
i
dent which goes completely against the grains of acceptable principles and norms
regarding the obligations of governments to ensure the safety and security of di
p
lomatic personnel as enshrined in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
â
?
It said the Ambassador of Guinea in Ghana had, on behalf of his government, rend
ered an unqualified apology to the government and people of Ghana for the unfort
u
nate incident and given assurances that the matter would be fully investigated a
n
d the perpetrators brought to book.
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| Accra - 15/08/2009 |
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