The Osagyefo Power Barge Centre at Effasu Mangyea, commonly known as Effasu, in the Jomoro Municipality of the Western Region, is set to be converted into a prison school for the Ghana Prisons Service (GPS).
The proposed initiative is being pursued through a collaboration between the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jomoro, Dorcas Affo-Toffey, and the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Benedict Boadi, as part of efforts to give the facility a new purpose.
The proposed conversion is intended to prevent the centre from going to waste and transform it into a facility that could support education, skills development and rehabilitation among inmates.
If implemented, the prison school could provide inmates with opportunities to access formal education and acquire practical skills to improve their prospects of reintegration into society after serving their sentences.
Already, personnel from the Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana Immigration Service and Ghana Police Service, together with officials of the Jomoro Municipal Assembly led by MCE Benedict Boadi, have visited the facility to assess its suitability for the proposed project.
The initiative comes years after the Osagyefo Power Barge project, which was established to help address Ghana’s electricity supply challenges, was dismantled.
On November 16, 2015, the Ministry of Energy directed the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to take over ownership of the power barge. The subsequent dismantling of the facility generated controversy in the Jomoro Municipality, where residents had expected the project to contribute to electricity supply in parts of the Western Region.
The then Deputy Minister of Energy, William Owuraku Aidoo, told Parliament that approximately 90 per cent of the Osagyefo Power Barge had been dismantled without authorisation.
The development followed calls by the then Jomoro MP, Dorcas Affo-Toffey, for the prosecution of Misag, the private company reportedly involved in the dismantling. She argued that the company’s actions were illegal.
The proposed prison school represents a possible new chapter for the facility, with its proponents seeking to repurpose the site for an initiative that could contribute to correctional education and rehabilitation.
The collaboration between the MP and the MCE also highlights efforts by national and local government representatives to explore alternative uses for public infrastructure to serve the needs of the community.
However, details regarding the implementation timeline, funding arrangements, educational programmes, necessary approvals and the institution that would manage the proposed school have yet to be established.
The conversion will therefore depend on the relevant approvals, planning and implementation arrangements.
If successfully implemented, the project could preserve the facility while creating opportunities for education and skills development within the Ghana Prisons Service.
