Remain neutral and professional - Director-General of Prisons.

The Director-General of Prisons (DGP), Mr. Isaac Kofi Egyir, has urged prison officers to be neutral and professional in the discharge of their duties.

Mr. Egyir made the call last week during durbars with officers at Bawku, Navrongo and Tamale Central Prisons as part of his 2-day working visit to the prisons establishments in the Northern and Upper East regions.

The DGP commended management and staff of the 3 establishments for their resilience, sacrifice and professionalism, especially during the recent conflicts in Bawku in particular, adding that the purpose of the visit was in part to solidarize with officers of the stations and to let them in on some developments in the Service.

“It's when you discharge your duties professionally and impartially that the people will have confidence in you. I therefore urge you to continue to uphold your professional ethics of neutrality by avoiding acts that could be interpreted as taking sides in conflicts,” he stressed.

Mr. Isaac Kofi Egyir seized the opportunity to brief the staff of the stations on the strategic direction of the Service following his assumption of office as the Director-General of the Service. 

These, according to him, include restocking the fleet of vehicles for the Service, bridging the funding gap, leveraging on ICT to reduce the volume of paper work, improving staff training and development, prioritising staff welfare and conditions of service, deepening collaboration with civil society and international strategic partners and above all, improving the welfare and rehabilitation of inmates.

Touching on agriculture, the DGP noted that the Service has a comparative advantage as it can boast of labour, land and expertise. He disclosed that the prisons administration had entered into partnerships with some companies, one of which has already started working on a pilot basis at Kpando, Ejura and Nsawam prisons. 

‘The company is providing capital and equipment while the Service is providing labour, and this partnership is expected to significantly increase the Service's agricultural production, he added.

On human resource development, the DGP informed personnel of the internally and externally structured programmes the administration has put in place to build capacity of staff. He entreated officers to take advantage of the programmes for their professional and personal development, He urged them to continue to work as a team and support administration to advance the cause of the Service.

On welfare, the DGP stated that his administration is committed to improving healthcare delivery to both officers and inmates. He added that a pension office has been opened at the Prisons Headquarters to facilitate the processing of pension payments to retired officers as that has, over the years, been a huge challenge to a lot of retired officers.

The Director General of Prisons was accompanied by the Director of Prisons in charge of Services and Technical, Mrs. Patience Baffoe-Bonnie. The two took turns to address the concerns of officers during the open forum sessions, to the satisfaction and admiration of staff.