Inmates to earn freedom through work and learning - Interior Minister

A new government-backed programme is set to transform Ghana’s prisons from places of confinement into hubs of productivity and rehabilitation, with well-behaved inmates now able to shave months off their sentences through hard work and skill development.

The initiative, spearheaded by the Ministry of the Interior in partnership with the Ministry of Education, will see prisoners actively engaged in manufacturing school furniture, sewing uniforms, and producing sanitary pads for public schools nationwide.

The aim is twofold: to equip inmates with employable skills while also boosting local production for the education sector.

Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak explained that the programme goes beyond punishment and focuses on rebuilding lives.

Under the framework of the Community Service Bill currently before Parliament, inmates who show discipline and commit themselves to prison industries for a year will qualify for a reduction in their jail terms.

In practical terms, this means a prisoner who puts in a full year of productive, well-conducted service could have three months taken off their sentence — serving nine months instead of twelve.

The policy signals a shift toward a more reform-driven justice system, one that rewards responsibility, promotes learning, and gives inmates a genuine opportunity to return to society with skills, dignity, and a clearer path forward.