A total of 28 inmates at the Ankaful Prisons, have participated in a three-day business management training programme to build their capacity as well as improve upon their skill.
The workshop, which was organized and funded by the Central Region Development Commission (CEDECOM) in partnership with WOEF Consultancy Limited, took the participants through topics like business idea generation, financial management, leadership in business management as well as marketing and effective communication.
Mr. Gabriel Fiatui, Head of Enterprise Development CEDECOM, who addressed the closing ceremony on Thursday at Ankaful said, the Commission had identified capacity building as key to human development since it enhanced a person’s value and enabled him to take decisions on his own and also be self-dependent.
He said in this regard the CEDECOM decided to organize the three-day Business Management Training Programme for the Ankaful Main Camp Prison in the Central Region.
He added that the programme was very appropriate for the inmates since most of them had acquired some skills already in carpentry and masonry for instance at the prisons to enable them start small business on their own when they leave the prisons.
He urged the participants not to place limitations on themselves but rather come out with their goals on what they want to achieve and the kind of life they want to live out of prison and work hard towards achieving those goals.
Mr. Leopold Kwame Amoah Asante, Deputy Director of Prisons and Officer in Charge at the Ankaful Main Camp Prisons, pointed out that the Ghana Prisons Service was committed to ensuring that all inmates were taken through retraining and re-socialization programmes and urged the public to do away with the misconception that inmates were ill-treated.
He pleaded with members of the public not to treat them differently when they come back to join them but should rather help them resettle and also assist them in acquiring whatever tools they would need to start up their own businesses.
This, he noted, would help stem their urge of going back to commit the same crimes and would also lessen the crime rates in the country. He appealed to public institutions, groups and individuals to come to the aid of the Prison Service to enable it to train more inmates.
Mr Asante congratulated the participants and advised them to put what they had learnt into productive use after their jail terms in order to contribute their quota to the development of Ghan
Edward Lawson on behalf of other participants expressed gratitude to the organizers of the training, saying it was really helpful and educative and gave the assurance that they would put whatever they had learnt into practice.
Certificates of participation were presented to them.