Mr. William K. Asiedu, Director General of the Ghana Prisons Service at the weekend appealed to the Judiciary Services to decentralize its services and appoint District Attorney's to speed up the prosecution of cases.

He said cases of prisoners on remand need to be judged in good time since they could not be detained in prison for a long time.

Mr. Asiedu made the appeal when he inaugurated a nine member Upper East Regional Prisons Committee at Bolgatanga.

He noted that most of the Prisons need 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.

Source: GNA