The Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Mrs. Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, has unveiled plans for a national sponsorship initiative aimed at transforming the country’s correctional facilities into modern, humane, and self-sustaining institutions.
Speaking after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ghana Women Awards 2025 in Accra, Mrs. Baffoe-Bonnie announced the upcoming launch of the Prisons Sustainability Support System — a public-backed programme designed to raise consistent funding to tackle the sector’s long-standing challenges.
She explained that the initiative would invite Ghanaians to contribute voluntarily toward improving prison conditions, adding that even a token contribution could yield significant results.
“We are not asking for much. If half of the population donates just one cedi a month, we could raise over ten million cedis. That will go a long way to improve the welfare of inmates and officers,” she stated.
The initiative forms part of Mrs. Baffoe-Bonnie’s broader vision to modernise the Ghana Prisons Service and ensure it fulfils its dual mandate of custody and rehabilitation more effectively. She emphasised that her administration is focused on leaving behind a more accountable and compassionate institution that promotes human dignity.
The Ghana Prisons Service has for years faced persistent issues such as overcrowding, inadequate logistics, and poor funding, conditions that hinder the reformation and reintegration of inmates. The new initiative, according to Mrs. Baffoe-Bonnie, seeks to make citizens key partners in addressing these challenges rather than leaving them solely to the government.
At the ceremony, organisers of the Ghana Women Awards praised Mrs. Baffoe-Bonnie’s pioneering leadership. Mr. Samuel Afriyie Owusu, Head of Research and Communication for the awards, highlighted her career-long dedication to public service, noting that she first won recognition in 2013 as the Outstanding Female Prisons Service Personnel.
He also congratulated Deputy Director of Prisons (Mrs.) Millicent Owusu, Director of Welfare at the Service, who was honoured as this year’s Outstanding Female Prisons Service Personnel.
The Ghana Women Awards recognises women who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and service to national development — values Mrs. Baffoe-Bonnie said she hopes to continue exemplifying through her commitment to prison reform.
