Inmates of the Koforidua Prisons in the Eastern Region have appealed to government and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), to exempt the country’s prisons from the ongoing load power shedding exercise popularly referred to as "dumsor".

According to the inmates, the situation where total darkness takes over the cells and the premises poses a major security threat to the Prisons authorities and the nation as a whole.

The leader of the inmates at the Koforidua Prison, Peter Latif made the appeal during the commissioning of an ultra-modern toilet and bathroom facility at the prisons, the facility together with a rehabilitation of the entire prison was executed by the Chief Executive Officer of Chocho Industries, Alhaji Dr. Mustapha Boateng, at a total cost of GHC30,000.00

Peter Latif further appealed to government to increase the daily feeding grant of inmates from the current GHC1.80p to ensure that inmates get relatively good food.

The deputy Eastern regional minister, Mavis Ama Frimpong, made a passionate appeal to employers to give qualified ex-convicts opportunities in the job market to enable them earn income for a living when they are out of prisons after serving their respective sentences.

According to her, ex-convicts should not be alienated in their quest to secure jobs, since such hostile environments may create a state of hopelessness which may compel ex-convicts to get back into the very same criminal acts that got them sent to jail.

Ms. Mavis Ama Frimpong, added that the "Ffiase Project" introduced by the Prisons Council seeks to improve conditions in the prisons and the general welfare of prison inmates which encapsulates offering skills training to prisoners.

She disclosed that as part of measures to help make inmates self-employed and employable, the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council (ERCC) was collaborating with the Ghana Education Service to introduce reading classes at the Koforidua Prisons to equip inmates of the facility with reading skills.

Alhaji Dr. Mustapha Boateng a.k.a Alhaji Chocho pledged his continued support to the inmates.