Once known as the Borstal Institute for Juveniles, the Senior/Junior Correctional Centre established by law under the Ghana Prisons Service is intended to transform persons under 18 years old who have been convicted of criminal or civil offenses.
The period that a convict spends in the centre under the guidance of professionals from various backgrounds, is aimed at reforming the person so that he/she can fit well into society after serving his/her sentence at the centre.
Inmates are equipped with skills training of their choice and formal education, where those who demonstrate considerable level of intelligence are given the opportunity to write the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Subsequently, those who pass the BECE are enrolled into the Senior High School, Technical or Vocational School to continue with formal education.
However, this good initiative seems to have already collapsed as several years of perpetual neglect of the Pong-Tamale Vocational Correctional Centre by governments has left almost all the structures in ruins with some few staff currently at post.
A recent visit by this reporter to the centre which is located in the Northern Region of Ghana showed that it needs to be given an urgent breathe of life in order to serve the purpose for which it was established.
The institution which was established decades ago is expected to serve inmates from the Northern sector comprising Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions. Fortunately or unfortunately, it has only one inmate at the time of this reporter’s visit.
Francis Haruna, Manager of the Pong-Tamale Vocational and Junior Correctional Centre told TheADVOCATE that lack of funding was a major constraint facing the centre.
According to him, he was yet to receive the monthly subvention of GH¢100.00 for the past 6months which is used to pay administrative cost.
Mr. Haruna expressed worry over the poor infrastructure of the centre, but observed that due to financial constraint, no major rehabilitation work could be done.
He noted that in situations whereby inmates abscond, it’s always difficult for them to be traced since Social Welfare Department which supervises the running of the centre does not allocate money for that purpose.
The centre has three (3) skills training staff with (2) support staff whose residential facilities at the time of this reporter’s visit were nothing good to write home about.
Mr. Haruna observed that despite its state, they have been residing in the facilities for many years and appealed to government and benevolent organizations to come to their aid.
The deplorable conditions at the Centre are not different from the situation at the Northern Regional Office of the Social Welfare Department in Tamale. In one of the offices where our reported waited to interview the Regional Director of the Department, he said conditions there were so deplorable and could just be likened to a kitchen in a traditional home setup.
To sum this up was a very sympathetic quote on the door of the particular office which he said reads “The LORD looked at my work and was very glad. He then looked at my salary; He bowed his head, turned away and wept.”
However, the Regional Director of the Social Welfare Department told Savannahnews that the Minister for Social Welfare has given a directive that no one in the office should talk to any media man or journalist regarding the situation at the Pong-Tamale Vocational and Junior Correctional Centre until further notice.
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