Executive Director of the Crime Check Foundation, Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng, has called on the government to review the GH¢15 transport allowance given to discharged prisoners, arguing that the amount is insufficient to cover their journeys home.
He has also urged the public and the media to replace the term “ex-convicts” with “returning citizens” to promote dignity and support the reintegration of former inmates into society.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Law programme on Sunday, November 8, Kwarteng said the GH¢15 travel stipend provided by the Ghana Prisons Service could not adequately cover transport fares, regardless of how far discharged prisoners had to travel to reach their communities.
When host Samson Lardy Anyenini asked whether the Prisons Service still paid GH¢15 as transport fare to discharged inmates, Kwarteng confirmed the amount, explaining that his interactions with former prisoners had revealed that many were stranded during their journeys.
He warned that inadequate transport support could push some discharged prisoners to steal along the way to raise money to continue their journeys, undermining their rehabilitation efforts even before they return to their communities.
“How do you expect the person to reach their destination with GH¢15? So what happens is that, in the course of their journey, some of them steal on the way because the GH¢15 will not take them to their hometown,” Kwarteng said.
The prison reform advocate, who has previously campaigned for increased daily feeding allowances for inmates, attributed the situation to inadequate state planning for post-release reintegration and sustained aftercare.
His concerns come amid recent government commitments to improve correctional infrastructure. President John Dramani Mahama announced on Saturday an allocation of GH¢100 million towards completing remand prisons next year, alongside the launch of a regional prison medicines bank.
Beyond financial assistance, Kwarteng called for a change in how society refers to people released from prison, arguing that the label “ex-convict” contributes to stigma and makes reintegration more difficult.
He said observations during a visit to a correctional facility in the United States last year reinforced the importance of using language that supports the confidence and reintegration of former inmates.
“They are returning citizens, not ex-convicts. There is a lot of literature that tells us that if we continue to use the ex-convict tag, it does not help in proper reintegration,” he said.
Citing estimates that about 30 per cent of former inmates return to prison, Kwarteng said two former prisoners featured on the programme had each served multiple prison terms, with some having been jailed three or four times.
He attributed their repeated encounters with the justice system partly to challenges such as community rejection, unemployment and homelessness after release.
Kwarteng urged the media and the public to avoid negative stereotypes and work with state institutions to establish livelihood and housing support systems that would help returning citizens rebuild their lives.
By:Rachael Djabakie