The Paramount Chief of the Mankpan Traditional Area who doubles as a Council of State Member H.E Mankpanwura Jakpa Achor-Ade Borenyi I, has donated food items and an undisclosed sum of money to staff and inmates of the Damongo Camp Prison in the Savannah Region to mark the upcoming Eid al-Fitr celebration.
The items, which included ten bags of rice and two gallons of cooking oil, were presented on Wednesday, March 18, 2025, on behalf of the Mankpanwura by Dripewura Matuge-Amu, a sub-chief under the Mankpanwura, accompanied by Kebasowura Bontu, former Mankpan Electoral Area Assembly Member Ibrahim Adjei, Haruna Sidik, Registrar of the Gonja Traditional Council, and Ibrahim Shafiew, a staff member of the Gonja Traditional Council.
Presenting the items, Chief Dripewura said: “Today we are here to represent the Mankpanwura to present ten bags of rice, two gallons of oil and an undisclosed amount to the Prison Staff and inmates here in the Damongo Camp Prison for the Eid al-Fitr celebration.”
Receiving the items on behalf of the staff and inmates, the Acting Officer-In-Charge of the Damongo Camp Prison, Chief Superintendent of Prisons Siekure A. Amatus, expressed profound gratitude to the Mankpanwura and his delegation for the kind gesture.
“On behalf of the Director General of Prisons, Mrs. Patience Baffoe Bonnie Esq., and the entire Ghana Prison Service, officers and inmates of this facility, I want to thank His Excellency Mankpanwura Jakpa Acho-ade Borenyi, Council of State Member for this kind gesture he has shown to the inmates. This will go a long way to feed them,” he said.
Chief Superintendent Amatus, however, noted that despite a recent increase in the daily feeding rate from GHC 1.80 to GHC 5 per inmate, the allocation remains woefully inadequate, and called on stakeholders and the general public to support the facility.
He also highlighted other pressing challenges facing the prison, including poorly equipped workshops particularly in metalwork and water supply difficulties caused by the facility’s sole mechanised borehole being located two kilometres away from the facility.
“We appeal if we can get some polytanks to store enough water,” he added, warning that any breakdown of the borehole would create serious challenges for the facility.
Chief Dripewura, in response, promised to relay all the concerns raised to the Mankpanwura upon his return to Mankpan.
The Damongo Camp Prison is a modern, 260–300 capacity Inmates Skills Acquisition and Reformation Centre located in the Savannah Region. Built by The Church of Pentecost and managed by the Ghana Prisons Service, the facility was commissioned by President John Dramani Mahama in November 2025 and aims to reduce overcrowding while focusing on vocational training in agriculture and carpentry.
