Fort Ussher as Prison There was no prison system in traditional Ghanaian society. In the mid-nineteenth century, the British council of merchants established a network of harsh prisons in forts such as Cape Coast Castle. By 1850 four such prisons could hold up to 129 prisoners. Convicts usually worked on road gangs. The Prisons Ordinance of 1860 outlined regulations for the safe-keeping of prisoners. Later ordinances further defined the nature of the colony's prison regimen, or "separate system," which required solitary confinement by night, penal labor, and a minimum diet. By the early 1900s, British colonial officials administered the country's prisons and employed Europeans to work as guards in the prisons. After World War II, Ghanaians gradually replaced these individuals. By 1962 Ghanaians staffed all positions in the prison system. The constitution of 1969 established a Prison Service, the director of which is appointed by the chief executive and is responsible to the minister of interior. The Criminal Procedure Code determines procedures for handling young offenders. The Prisons Service Board formulates prison policy and regulations. The board consists of a Public Services Commission member as chairman, the prison services director, a medical officer of the Ghana Medical Association, a representative of the attorney general, the principal secretary of the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare, and three other appointed members, one of whom must be a woman and two of whom must be representatives of religious organizations. >>> | | * CLICK HERE for:- DEUTSCH - POLSKI (SOON) - FRANCAIS - | Fort Ussher (Fort Crevecoer), a former prison where Kwame Nkrumah was once held... Dutch post built in 1642. Enlarged and named Fort Crevecoeur, in 1652. Temporarily in British hands, in 1782. Returned to the Dutch in 1785. Abandoned in 1816. Damaged by earthquake, in 1862. Transferred to British, rebuilt and renamed Ussher Fort, in 1868. | Ussher Fort: Restoration of the bastion and former police station | Ussher Fort is one of three European forts in Accra which have survived the times. It was built as Fort Crêvecoeur by the Dutch in 1649.
The project Restoration of the bastion and former police station into a museum in forts and castles is the following phase of the conservation plan of Ussher Fort.
The first phase consisted of creating an International Documentation Centre in Ussher Fort.
The overall objective is to reduce the extreme level of poverty in this urban community through the implementation of a sustainable and integrated urban regeneration programme that make use of the cultural and historical assets and resources present in the area.
It is also a project aiming at preserving the invaluable tangible cultural heritage of Old Accra. It represents a pilot project to foster at its maximum the income generating potential of cultural tourism and local development.
The project’s purpose:
To stimulate the restoration and rehabilitation of Ussher Fort, a world Heritage Site To create direct and indirect job opportunities in the area To raise awareness and educate on the preservation of cultural heritage and foster culture and identity mainly among young people To create a community-based stream of income linked with the valorisation of cultural assets, goods and services including local tour guides, small scale business and cultural enterprises To demonstrate to decision makers, community leaders, craftsmen and women and other stakeholders the opportunities given by cultural heritage to enhance innovative cultural policies for sustainable development.
The result will be the complete restoration of the Bastion of the Fort and its conversion into a functional and sustainable museum on the Forts and Castles of Ghana, with the establishment of supporting facilities (shop, walkway-belvedere and square) including adequate space for small business and cultural enterprises initiatives. | Ussher Fort Museum opened to the public | Accra, Nov. 14,2007 - GNA - The Ghana Museums and Monuments Board on Wednesday officially opened a new museum that would focus on the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade at the Ussher Fort prisons in Accra.
The Museum funded by the European Union through UNESCO has in stock a collection of valuable personal effect of those who were involved in the slave trade as well as paintings and art crafts that depict the slave trade.
On display were equipment used to chain the slaves, drinking cups made of clay, huge grinding stones and paintings of those raped in the heinous trade.
Mr. Abeeku Dickson, Special Assistant to the Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, who cut the tape to open the museum said the ministry was poised to create tourism products that would offer fulfilment to tourists.
"Tourism is the fastest growing industry in the world and Ghana has to take advantage of it".
Mr Dickson noted that the slave trade was peculiar to Ghana's history and that Ghana alone had 42 forts and castles at the time of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
He called for cooperation from the chiefs and people of Ga Mashie and urged the Museum and Monuments Boards to ensure that the Ussher Fort Museum was managed with sustainability.
Mr. Filiberto Ceriani Sebregondi, European Union Resident Commissioner, said the EU was fully aware of the importance of cultural heritage and its potential role for local economic development hence their support for the project.
The project funded with 420,000 Ghana cedis through the European Development Fund, he said, had a huge potential for the development of cultural tourism.
Mr Sebregondi said the EU also funded the museum because of the historical links of the Ussher forts with various European countries.
He expressed the hope that the restoration of the bastion of the fort and its conversion into a functional and sustainable museum would raise awareness and educate young people on the preservation of the cultural heritage represented by the fort.
"For the general public as well as Ghanaian school children, it offers an additional opportunity to harnessing education for cultural heritage development."
Mr Sebregondi said the museum would allow international tourists to stay a bit longer in Accra before going to Elmina or Cape-Coast as a recreational area.
Mrs. Sarah Bucknor, Manager of the Museum, said the museum focused on slavery because the slave trade was an ancient institution and it was established at the Ussher Fort because the Fort is part of the world heritage sites selected for funding by UNESCO.
She expressed hope that people would patronize the museum and also urged the general public to visit the place and learn more about their history.
Mr. Joseph Maisie, Acting Director of the Ghana Museum and Monuments Board said the museum would place much emphasis on the development of tourism in the Ga Mashie area.
Nii Tackie Commey, Member of Parliament for Odododiodoo, said the opening of the museum in the Ga Mashie area was a welcome one and called on citizens to cooperate with the authorities to ensure its sustainability Nii Okaidja II, Gbese Manste who represented the Ga Manste, expressed gratitude to all those who contributed to the planning and completion of the museum project.
| >>> Fort Ussher as Prison The Prisons Service Board also administers the country's prisons. As 1992, the most recent year for which data was available, the prison system consisted of twenty-seven institutions, including six central prisons for men at Accra (Ussher Fort and James Fort), Sekondi, Kumasi, Tamale, and Nsawam; two for women at Ekuasi near Sekondi and at Ho; fifteen local prisons sited throughout the country, six of which have annexes for women; and two open prisons, one at James Camp near Accra, and the other at Ankaful near Cape Coast. About 70 percent of commitments are for less than six months. Outside the criminal justice system, the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare operates probation homes in Accra and Jakobu Ashanti for boys and in Kumasi for girls; and detention centers in Accra, Sekondi, Cape Coast, and Kumasi handle juveniles of both sexes. Persons convicted and sentenced to a period of police supervision (parole) rather than imprisonment are subject to a licensing arrangement. Violations of the license terms are punishable by one-year imprisonment. Upon convicting an offender of any age, a court may release that individual on probation for six months to three years. Failure to comply with the terms of the probation can result in the probationer's having to serve the sentence for the original offense. Probation has been used mainly for young persons. Data as of November 1994 (NOTE: The information regarding Ghana on this page is re-published from The Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Factbook. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Ghana Prison System information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Ghana Prison System should be addressed to the Library of Congress and the CIA. )
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