Black Stars & Newcastle midfielder Christian Atsu, has renewed his commitment to support Crime Check Foundation’s (CCF) second phase of the Petty Offenders Project.
The second phase of the project will enable the Foundation to reintegrate ex-convicts into the Ghanaian society with the support of benevolent individuals like the Ghanaian Winger.
The Executive Director of CCF, Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng told crimecheckghana after a visit to the Ghanaian footballer at his base in Newcastle in the UK said Atsu has agreed to support the Foundation in its second phase of the project.
He said with the second phase the Foundation would reintegrate the ex-convicts into society by giving them skills training and some financial support to establish their own trade, which would enable them integrate properly.
The Petty Offenders Project, is a resource pool used to pay for court fines of individuals languishing in jail for petty offences. So far, the midfielder has supported the release of 48 prisoners across the country’s prisons.
Mr. Kwarteng said, “we believe such an intervention will go a long way to decongest the prisons and that with the renewed commitment from the midfielder and other good Samaritans, the Foundation will continue to pay for court fines of many petty offenders”.
The CCF boss who is also the Ambassador Extraordinaire of Prisons said the initiative will enable ex-convicts to find something to do so as not to reoffend and be locked up in jail.
On the Non-Custodial Sentencing Bill, he said there was the need for the passage of the bill into law to ensure that petty offenders are given some form of community sentence instead of throwing them into prison. The bill he said, when passed into law, would allow those convicted of petty offences to serve in communities to clean the streets and desilt gutters among others.
“Whiles many advanced countries have effectively factored convicts in their development agenda, our country rather prefers to warehouse prisoners and use the tax payer’s money to feed them whiles filth continues to engulf us as a nation,” he added.
