Two senior officers of the Ghana Prison Services, Zenabu Issifu Monnie and Alimatu Mustapha Zerba, have been promoted to the office of Assistant Superintendent of Prisons (ASP) after successfully graduating from the Cadet Course Intake-31 in a ceremony held on Thursday, June 8.
Zenabu Issifu Monnie, a Senior Chief Officer at the Nsawam Camp Prisons, and Alimatu Mustapha Zerba, a Chief Officer at the Ho Central Prisons, were among a total of 176 females out of 450 graduates who passed out from the Prison Officers Training School (POT) in Accra after about five months of training.
The graduation ceremony, presided over by President Nana Akufo-Addo, was attended by several dignitaries, including the Interior Minister Mr Ambrose Dery.
Addressing the graduation parade of Cadet Course Intake 31 in Accra, the President, who was the reviewing officer, charged the officers to be practical, innovative, and perform their functions with integrity and compassion at all times.
The officer cadet training was aimed at providing the requisite intellectual, physical, and regimental preparation and mental resilience to officer cadets to enable them to take up leadership positions and exercise effective and efficient command in the Ghana Prisons Service.
Intake 31 had young men and women from different academic and professional backgrounds, including business administration, accounting, agriculture, law, nursing and allied health services, engineering, and building construction, among other qualifications.
For the first time, the officers were taken through rigorous high-risk and counter-terrorism training at the Ankaful Prisons Complex in the Central Region for a period of three weeks.
Throughout the rigorous five-month course, the officers honed their professional skills and acquired extensive knowledge in strategic command and leadership management.
The curriculum was specifically designed to equip them with the expertise necessary to assume future responsibilities in commanding and leading prison operations.
As a symbol of their achievement, all 450 graduants received the coveted ‘Passed Staff College’ emblem and a course certificate.
The successful completion of the Senior Command and Staff Course by these senior officers marks a significant milestone in their prison careers.