Judiciary asked to appoint district Attorney's.

Bolgatanga, March 4, GNA- Mr. William K. Aseidu, Director General of
the Ghana Prisons Service at the weekend appealed to the Judiciary
Services to decentralise its services and appoint District Attorney's
to speed up the prosecution of cases.He said cases of prisoners on
remand needs to be judged in good time since they could not be
detained in prison for a long time.
Mr. Aseidu made the appeal when he inaugurated a nine member
Upper East Regional Prisons Committee in Bolgatanga.He noted that most
of the Prisons needs to be rehabilitated to give them a human face,
saying, "Prisons could be built to look like homes to accommodate
inmates during their time of reform and rehabilitation".
He said prisoners must not only be punished, but they should be
given a chance to reform their lives and learn useful trades.Mr.
Samuel Ashitey, Chairman of the Prisons Council, in a speech read on
his behalf by Mrs. Mary Amadu, member of the Council, expressed
concern about the poor facilities and inadequate resources at the
prisons, saying such a situation could not sufficiently cater for the
growing numbers of prisoners.
He explained that the Prisons Committees, which is made up of
people of varied backgrounds and expertise were being formed in the
regions to help improve Prisons services in the country.
"They are expected to visit the prisons, identify their problems
and find ways to resolve them or make recommendations to the
appropriate quarters for resolution".
He said the committees were also expected to raise funds to help
support educational and vocational training of prisoners and their
other needs.Mr. Ashitey said prisoners all over the country would be
given agricultural, electronic and other technical training that would
equip them with employable skills to make them self sufficient when
they are released.
Mr. Boniface Gambila, Upper East Regional Minister, who is also
the Chairman of the Committee, said the committee would do its best to
meet their responsibilities.
He urged the Prisons Council to examine the supply of foodstuffs
to the region's two prisons, which currently comes from Accra.He
suggested that the food could be supplied from the region, to ensure
its regular supply, which would also create a market for the farmers
in the region.
4 March 07