Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka
The Minister for the Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, has expressed concern over what he described as the widespread abuse of remand and harsh bail conditions in the country’s justice system, revealing that the government is pursuing constitutional reforms to curb unnecessary detention and reduce overcrowding in prisons.
Speaking in Parliament during deliberations on the Community Service Bill, 2026, the minister said remand procedures had become excessive, with many suspects being detained unnecessarily or subjected to bail terms they could not meet.
“We should make remand very restrictive, because currently it is massively abused with the least provocation. You go to the police, they remand people anyhow, sometimes they give terrible bail conditions which people are not able to meet,” he stated.
Mr. Muntaka disclosed that his ministry was working closely with the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney-General on constitutional amendments aimed at tightening the use of remand in the criminal justice system.
According to him, the reforms, together with the proposed Community Service Bill and pending parole regulations, would significantly help decongest the country’s overcrowded prisons.
The Interior Minister painted a grim picture of conditions within the prisons, revealing that prison overcrowding currently stands at about 37 percent, with inmate numbers exceeding 13,000 nationwide.
He said the financial burden of maintaining prisoners had become enormous, with feeding alone costing the state about GH¢10 million every quarter, translating into roughly GH¢40 million annually.
Mr. Muntaka noted that although the government had increased the feeding allocation for inmates from GH¢1.80 to GH¢5 daily, the amount remained inadequate.
“Even the GH¢5 is woefully inadequate to feed an adult for three meals a day,” he said, comparing it to school feeding allocations for children.
The minister further highlighted the severe congestion in major prisons across the country, citing facilities originally built for hundreds of inmates but now housing several times their intended capacity.
He indicated that the Community Service Bill seeks to introduce non-custodial sentencing for persons convicted of minor offences, particularly those sentenced to three years or less.
Under the proposed law, eligible offenders could undertake community service instead of serving custodial sentences, thereby reducing pressure on prison facilities while promoting rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
Mr. Muntaka explained that persons undertaking community service would not be paid, as their labour would support local assemblies and communities.
He stressed that the effectiveness of the bill would depend on the passage of complementary parole regulations, which he said could soon be laid before Parliament.
Chairman of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, James Agalga, in presenting the committee’s report, said Ghana’s continued reliance on custodial sentencing for minor offences had contributed heavily to prison overcrowding, high reoffending rates and growing financial pressure on the state.
He said the committee believed the Community Service Bill represented a significant step toward criminal justice reform by institutionalising structured non-custodial sentencing.
Mr. Agalga also called for extensive public education and capacity-building for judges, law enforcement officers, traditional authorities and other stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of the proposed law.
Ranking Member of the Defence and Interior Committee, Patrick Yaw Boamah, welcomed the bill but urged the government to adequately resource the proposed National Community Service Secretariat to avoid inefficiency and corruption.
He also called for an updated fiscal impact assessment of the bill, noting that earlier projections made in 2023 were outdated.
Contributing to the debate, the Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, argued that imprisoning petty offenders alongside hardened criminals imposed unnecessary costs on the state and undermined justice reforms.
He said offenders convicted of minor crimes could instead be made to undertake useful community work rather than occupy prison space.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House