The daily meal allowance for prisoners has been increased by the government from GH¢1.80p to GH¢5, a substantial increase.
According to Interior Minister Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, the purpose of the prisoners’ meal grant adjustment is to enhance the welfare of inmates nationwide.
He stressed that prisoners’ fundamental human rights, such as the right to sufficient nourishment, must be upheld even if they have committed a transgression against society.
When Muntaka came before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, he made this clear.
With GH¢10 million anticipated to be provided to cover the final quarter of this year, he said the new rate had been approved by the president and will be included in the 2026 budget.
Committee members said the GH¢1.80p budget, which hasn’t changed since 2010, is woefully insufficient to give prisoners three meals a day.
The committee was informed by Mrs. Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, that inadequate meal conditions have an impact on inmates’ health and welfare.
She explained that the Prisons Service has been supplementing convict meals with gardens, fish ponds, poultry initiatives, and sporadic church support.
However, she cautioned that the primary cause of prison disturbances remains food shortages and emphasised the significance of improving rations to safeguard the health of both officers and convicts.
Sebastian Fred Deh, a committee member, claimed that the scenario went against the Mandela Rules, which mandate that prisoners receive enough food, and compared it to the GH¢2.50 per child per day under the school feeding programme.
To lessen the strain on the jail system, he pleaded with the government to deliver the authorised cash right away.
Citing difficulties in overseeing the welfare of prisoners in all of the nation’s prisons, the Ghana Prisons Service has long called for an increase in the feeding grant.
Authorities anticipate that this boost will enhance the inmates’ overall health and meal quality, lessening some of the everyday struggles they endure.
Source: newsthemegh.com