The Interior Minister, Hon. Ambrose Dery, has on behalf of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the people of Ghana, expressed their profound gratitude and appreciation to the leadership and members of The Church of Pentecost for constructing a magnificent prison facility at Ejura in the Ashanti Region.
According to him, The Church of Pentecost, which currently has branches in 109 nations across the world, has “proven to be a first-class corporate citizen of Ghana.”
Hon. Ambrose Dery said this in a keynote address at the commissioning of the multi-purpose Ejura Prison Camp on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. The 300-bed capacity facility which consists of an administration block, visitor’s lodge, an infirmary, chapel/classroom, kitchen, stores block, workshop block comprising three workshops, inmates’ bathrooms and toilets block, and a football field, was wholly funded and constructed by The Church of Pentecost at a total cost of GHS 3,297,139.81.
He indicated that the Government is committed to building the capacity and reorienting the Ghana Prison Service to deliver on its constitutional mandate to meet international best standards of correctional practices, and that Government is happy to partner the private sector to improve the conditions of the Service towards efficient delivery.
“Accordingly, I am delighted to convey the appreciation of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the Government of Ghana to The Church of Pentecost for their exemplary gesture of supporting a worthy cause of bringing relief to humanity. The church is building five prison facilities including this facility in Ejura and four others which are commendable. Three of such facilities are at appreciable levels of completion.
“The contribution of The Church of Pentecost in this regard is unprecedented and I will encourage all of us to applaud it. This is unprecedented; you can’t question it. It is clear. I am more impressed about it because it is not by accident; it is part of a strategic plan and Vision 2023 that The Church of Pentecost is putting in place these facilities variously.
“Not just a one-off intervention, as a Minister of Interior, I am aware that there are other places in the country they have made various interventions such as the construction of facilities for the Ghana Police Service. Vision 2023 of the church shows a consistent well-thought-out strategy where people’s lives are going to be transformed and even start-ups are given to some to start their businesses,” he pointed out.
He added: “The Church of Pentecost has shown and demonstrated that the Bible is a living word. They have also shown that indeed Christ hates sin but loves the sinner.
“I’m pleased to note that this prison facility, unlike some of the prison facilities that we have in Ghana which are remnants or remains of the colonial era, has been purposely built according to specifications with features like multi-purpose workshops which will facilitate reformation and rehabilitation of inmates.”
The Interior Minister mentioned that correction practices globally have evolved considerably from its punitive force. He explained that the administration of capital punishment in the past with the infliction of physical pains has been de-emphasized and now the emphasize is on the offender reformation and rehabilitation to facilitate their reintegration into society.
He stated that the main interest and the premium on corrections practice is seeing offenders reformed, rehabilitated, and add value to their lives as they return to society as law-abiding citizens, saying, “In that we have found no better partner than The Church of Pentecost.”
PENTECOST NEWS.
