Salaga North MP wants prisons’ agriculture equipment upgraded

The Member of Parliament for Salaga North, Mr Alhassan Mumuni, has called for the upgrading of the agricultural equipment of the Ghana Prisons Service to enable it to produce more food.

He said production of more food by the service would make it self-sufficient to be able to feed its inmates and wean it from the government’s pecuniary releases.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Mumuni said the Salaga Prison, for example, in 2013 cultivated four acres of yam and harvested 4,400 kilogrammes of the crop.

It also cultivated two acres of pepper, he said, out of which 81 kilogrammes of the crop was harvested.

According to him, there is a large number of prisoners in the country whose upkeep has a considerable impact on the national kitty; thus, the nation needs to resort to them in food production and the construction industry.

“I took inspiration from the Chinese construction firm which built the Tamale Sports Stadium. It used the labour of prison inmates from China. We have a large number of inmates at Nsawam and other prisons who are only kept and fed and do nothing for the nation. This must change,” he said.

Patriotism and selflessness

Mr Mumuni also bemoaned the growing lack of selflessness and patriotism on the part of Ghanaians and said it was likely to slow the country’s march towards development.

“Patriotism and selflessness will help reduce corruption, absenteeism and lateness to our workplaces, waste in the society and, above all, promote sustainable development. Ghana must move forward,” he said.

Development in the north

Turning the spotlight on the infrastructural situation in the northern part of Ghana, he said under the Energy for All Programme, 500 communities had been connected to the national grid, and expressed the hope that by 2016, more than 80 per cent of communities would have been connected.

“The Salaga North Constituency, which had never enjoyed electricity, now has 14 communities connected,” he said.