Govt approves GH¢5 daily feeding for inmates

The Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Mrs. PaBaffoe-Bonnie Patience (ESQ), has disclosed that the government has approved an upward adjustment of GH¢5 per inmate daily for feeding, though the funds are yet to be released.

She explained that until the approval, prison authorities were operating on just GH¢1.80 per inmate per day, an amount she described as grossly inadequate to sustain feeding needs.

Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday, September 30, Mrs. Baffoe-Bonnie warned that poor feeding remains a major cause of unrest in Ghana’s prisons.

“Once the feeding is wrong, it has ripple effects on health and every other thing; we are working assiduously to ensure the rules change. We are hopeful the GH¢5 a day will be increased in the course of 2026 to reflect the feeding regime for a disgruntled adult, an angry adult behind bars,” she said.

Reliance on gardens and donations

The Prisons DG noted that in the absence of sufficient funding, authorities have had to rely on prison gardens, a small fish pond, and donations from churches to supplement food supplies.

She cautioned that inadequate feeding often sparks riots, putting prison officers in danger.
“We have to note on this platform that one of the things that is giving cause for inmates to riot is food. And so, we do everything within our means to ensure that as much as possible, we’re containing the inmates without the riots.

“Because if there are any riots, the poor prison officer becomes the first point of attack before any intervention. I want to say that beyond the feeding, there are also challenges,” she stressed.

Call for broader reforms

Beyond the feeding challenges, Mrs. Baffoe-Bonnie called for broader reforms to improve prison conditions, emphasising that inmate welfare is essential to national security.

“If we want to have serious public safety in this country, we have to prioritise the needs of prisoners. Because they’re part of us, they will be with us, and we don’t know who will be our next guest,” she stated.

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