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Ghana Prisons Service launches entrepreneurship, innovation training programme for inmates
Hon. Ambrose Dery, Minister for Interior launching the programme.
As part of making inmates in the prisons productive in society when discharged, the Ghana Prisons Service has launched National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Training Programme (NEIP) at the Prisons Headquarters in Accra on Wednesday.
Dubbed “Entrepreneurship for Restoration Programme”, the partnership between the Ghana Prisons Service and NEIP would provide skills in various light manufacturing areas and entrepreneurship to inmates and Prison Officers.
The Director-General of Ghana Prisons Service, Mr. Isaac K. Egyir, in a remark said that the programme was a major intervention in the rehabilitation drive of the Service.
He noted that, “the partnership programme answers partly, the call by the Minister of Interior on the need for the service to prioritise the reformation and rehabilitation needs of inmates.”
He said it would serve as an intervention to rehabilitate inmates to ensure public safety through the acquisition of vocational skills for the sustainability of inmates when they were set free.
“The training programmes under this intervention have been purposely structured in a way that inmates who benefit and are certified to be competent in particular skill sets, would be given “starter packs” upon discharge from prison,” he said.
These “starter packs”, are intended to set them up on a path to a self-sustaining and income generating enterprise, while inmates who have more time to do in prison would also be given similar packages to enable them to ply their skills in prison.
Mr. Egyir commended the Chief Executive Officer of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP)Mr. Kofi Ofosu Nkansah for finding the inmates worthy beneficiaries of this training.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr. Ambrose Dery, who launched the “Entrepreneurship for Restoration” programme said the training was expected to give a significant boost to efforts already made by the Ghana Prisons Service to provide rehabilitation programmes for inmates.
Considering the nature of the programme, he noted that on a broader scale, the inmates who benefitted from the training would also be contributing towards Ghana’s long-term strategic vision of consolidating its middle-income status and further building an industry-driven economy.
The training modules under the programme are soap and detergent making, juice processing, grain and cereals packaging, preparation of yoghurt, making of cosmetics among other skills tailored to meet the needs of inmates.
By ASP Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
Ghana Tourism Authority is leading Ghana’s participation at ITB Berlin, which opened in Berlin with a vibrant national pavilion highlighting Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, tourism destinations and investment opportunities.
March 5 has been designated as Ghana Day, a special platform to promote Ghana’s languages, cuisine, Kente, festivals and business prospects to the global tourism community. The stand has already drawn strong interest with traditional arts and crafts displays, immersive multimedia presentations and popular Ghanaian snacks.
Seven private-sector players are exhibiting alongside government officials as part of efforts to deepen trade partnerships, expand market access, and attract investment across the hospitality, heritage tourism, ecotourism, and creative arts sectors.
Ahead of the official opening, the Ghana delegation also engaged young Ghanaian investors in Germany in collaboration with V Afrika-Verein and the Ghana Embassy, strengthening diaspora investment linkages and highlighting opportunities within the tourism value chain.
Ghana’s coordinated presence at ITB Berlin 2026 reinforces its strategy to position the country as the Gateway to Africa and a competitive destination for leisure travel and global investment.
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
