MIHOSO Foundation appeals to President Mahama to prioritise, assent Community Service Law   

Mr Thomas Benarkuu, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the MIHOSO International Foundation, at the weekend appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to prioritize and assent the Community Service Law. 
 
He said MIHOSO, among other objectives, worked to promote the welfare, rights and dignity of the vulnerable population, saying that assenting the law would give a realistic meaning to its enforcement. 
 
Parliament passed the Community Service Bill 2026 into law on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, which introduces community service as an alternative to custodial sentences for persons convicted for minor offences. 
 
Mr Benarkuu made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), after Dr Gabriel Gbiel Benarkuu, the immediate past CEO, handedover the operations of the foundation to him at a brief ceremony in Sunyani. 
 
Before then, Mr Benarkuu was the Deputy CEO in-charge of Operations of the foundation. 
 
Mr Benarkuu noted that though the passage of the bill into law experienced some delays, parliament ought to be commended, saying that: “In fact these are some of the things we expect parliament doing”. 
 
He described the new law as a landmark achievement for the nation, noting that the provisions in the law would be beneficial to the country, saying that its enforcement would reduce government expenditure in prison maintenance. 
 
“Now the government spends about GHC40 million cedis in prison maintenance due to inmate overcrowding, poor sanitation and challenges”, he stated. 
 
Mr Benarkuu indicated that besides helping to decongest the nation’s overcrowded and choked prisons, the passage and subsequent implementation of the law would greatly improve sanitation and hygiene in the country. 
 
“This isn’t one of the laws that the nation must delay in its enforcement and we expect President Mahama to put premium on and assent it in the supreme interest of the nation”, Mr Benarkuu urged. 
 
He emphasised that the MIHOSO consistently spearheaded public advocacy education for the passage of the bill into law because the foundation was confident that its enforcement would also promote environmental cleanliness. 
 
Mr Benarkuu added that strict enforcement of the law would further change people’s bad attitude towards the environment and sanitation. 
 
The Community Service Bill, 2026 was presented to Parliament by the Minister for the Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, on March 4, 2026, in accordance with Article 106(1) of the 1992 Constitution and subsequently referred to the Committee on Defence and Interior for consideration. 
 
The passage of the Bill into law now provides a legal and institutional framework for the implementation of community service, with the aim of expanding sentencing options available to the courts. 
 
With the passage, the law will now reduce the nation’s reliance on imprisonment for minor and specified offences.