Crisis meeting @ Nsawam Prisons

Inmates of the Nsawam Medium  Security Prisons could for now heave a  sigh of relief as their concerns over poor   diet are being addressed by the management of the facility.

The Chronicle is reliably informed that following its publication headlined, ‘PRISONERS THREATEN HUNGER STRIKE’ on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, the authorities of the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons convened a crisis meeting to look into the issues raised by the prisoners.

The meeting was said to have started at 9:30 am and lasted about two hours. A top prison official (name withheld) who The Chronicle is informed was disturbed about the conditions prevailing in the prison, distanced himself from the meeting.

At the time the said meeting was ongoing, the top prison official was busy reading newspapers dispatched to his office. The Chronicle could not verify whether he was invited for the said meeting or not.

Inmates of the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons have threatened to go on a hunger strike if the harsh economic conditions they are going through are not immediately addressed. They accused the authorities of the prisons of being insensitive to their plights.

For instance, they alleged that porridge is served them without sugar and milk, while a greater part of food donations made to the prisons by individuals, churches and other organisations, end up in the homes of the prison officers, with a small quantity trickling down to them.

The prisoners currently live on Gp60 per head per day; a situation the authorities of the prisons admitted was not the best, and were working hard for the government to increase it to GH¢2.

The prisoners also accused their keepers of denying men of God access to the prison yard to worship with them. But the authorities, in an interview with The Chronicle, said the inmates had no case, since they were not aware of how the prison was managed.

The OIC, Ben Lartey, said though his outfit was facing difficulty with the amount earmarked to feed the prisoners, their allegations were baseless.