Ankaful Maximum Security Prison nearing completion

Saturday, December 1, 2007-Bac Page (Page 32)
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru & Paul Akweterh Mensah
WORK on the first maximum security prison in the country, located at Ankaful in the Central Region, is 70 per cent complete.
Part of the 2,000-capacity prison is expected to be completed to be operational by December this year.
The complete project, comprising five blocks of prison cells - administration, gate lodge, kitchen and officers’ flats - is expected to be completed by June next year.
Security features of the prison include strong metal doors, concrete windows and thick walls studded with piercing metals.
The project, estimated at ¢150 billion, is being executed by BARRY’s Limited, a local construction firm, with AESL as the consultants. Work on the project officially commenced in July 2005.
The Central Regional consultant to the project, Mr Joseph Afful, was briefing journalists on the progress of work on Thursday during a working visit of the project by the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Mr William K. Asiedu, and members of the Ghana Prisons Service Council.
He mentioned the fixing of metal gates, windows and fittings as some of the outstanding work on the project.
The contractor, Alhaji Issah Barry, gave the assurance that his outfit would complete the construction of two of the five blocks of cells by December, this year, as agreed with the government and would finish the entire project by June next year.
The Director-General said the maximum security prison would take only prisoners with long-term sentences.
He said the focus would be on rehabilitation, and indicated that vocational training such as tailoring, carpentry, soap making, electricals would be offered while those interested in formal education would be assisted to sit for senior high school examinations.
Mr Asiedu said one significant aspect of the maximum security prison was that inmates would not be allowed to go outside to engage in community work.
He said the Institute of Industrial Research was engaged to treat the excreta and generate biogas out of it for cooking purposes.
Mr Asiedu declined to give his assessment of the project, but insisted that the Ghana Prisons Service Council would convene a meeting to come out with a statement on the progress of work.
Earlier, the team visited the Awutu Camp Prison where they inaugurated a-120 capacity dormitory funded by the Prisons Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) and constructed by the officers and prison inmates at ¢670 million.
Mr Asiedu said the Council had adopted Awutu as a model camp to initiate good practices which would be replicated at all the camp prisons in the country.
He appealed to the Prison Service Council to continue to support the service to enable it upgrade all camp prisons and also rejuvenate their agricultural activities.
A member of the Prisons Service Council, Sir Samuel Kofi Asubonteng, commended the officers for their efforts and reiterated the commitment of the Council to improving the state of the country’s prisons.
The officer in charge of the Awutu Camp Prison, Chief Superintendent Francis Omane-Addo, said the camp was committed to equipping the inmates with employable skills.