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| Mr Bansah |
THE Director General of the Prisons Service, Mr Michael Kofi Bansah, has appealed to the general public to endeavour to accept back ex-convicts into the society.
According to him, when relatives and the general society accept and reintegrate ex-convicts into the society, it would contribute significantly to crime reduction and also go to reduce congestion in the country’s prisons.
“Anything short of this negates their proper reintegration and militates against rehabilitation efforts by the service,” he said.
Mr Bansah made the appeal at an induction service during which he was commissioned as a substantive head of the prisons service, after serving in an acting capacity for three years.
He indicated that society’s continuous neglect and discrimination against ex-convicts had often led to the ex-convicts’ craving to continue engaging in bad activities.
“The public and societal negative perception about ex-convicts must be discarded, since anything short of societal acceptance, will go to defeat the purpose of correction which ex-convicts have been taken through as a result of their incarceration,” Mr Bansah said.
He reiterated that enhancing professionalism of staff; the welfare of servicemen and servicewomen as well as inmates; and the promotion of corporate image of the service were key pillars around which his leadership would revolve.
Mr Bansah called for the collaborative support from the staff of the service and key stakeholders to harness the growth of the service.
He also appealed to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), corporate bodies and public-spirited individuals to complement government’s efforts at the provision of facilities for the rehabilitation of inmates.
That, he said, would make the inmates become useful to themselves and society as a whole.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Rt Rev Francis Amenu, who performed the induction, charged political leaders to abide by the oaths they took.
“Many leaders who begin to make strides fail to uphold their virtues and fall in the process, and as such do not live to tell their success stories,” he lamented.
Rev Amenu also charged politicians to conduct their campaign in decorum, as the political season began.
“Exhibit a high sense of restraint and love for one another worthy of emulation by followers and enthusiasts,” he charged political party flag bearers.
While congratulating Mr Bansah on his elevation, the moderator also tasked him to provide genuine leadership and stewardship to the people he has been appointed to lead.
Mr Bansah was enrolled into the service in 1980 and has served in various capacities, such as commandant of the Prisons Training School and Director of Prisons in charge of operations at the General Headquarters until his elevation to the acting Director General position in 2009.
Present at the ceremony were the Minister of Interior, Mr William Aboah, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawaih Quaye, the Director General of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Dr Peter Alex Wiredu, and some security service heads.
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