Buzstopboys Welcomes Passage Of Community Service Bill

Founder of the volunteer group Buzstopboys, Heneba Kwadwo Safo, has welcomed Parliament’s passage of the Community Service Bill, 2026, describing it as a major step towards a more rehabilitative justice system.

Speaking to 3Music TV, Heneba, who has long advocated community service as an alternative punishment for minor offences, said the legislation reflects a principle his organisation has consistently promoted.

He argued that people convicted of petty offences should contribute to society through supervised public work rather than spend time in prison.

“We are saying that instead of 15 years in jail, let’s give them community service. There is a lot of sanitation work to be done,” he said.

Heneba said assigning eligible offenders to community service could help improve sanitation across the country while allowing them to make a positive contribution to society.

However, he rejected suggestions that the new law could encourage littering because offenders would be made to clean public spaces.

He stressed that littering remains an offence under Ghana’s Public Health Act and said anyone caught violating the law should still face the appropriate legal sanctions.

His comments come days after Parliament passed the Community Service Bill, 2026, introducing community service as an alternative to custodial sentences for people convicted of specified categories of offences.

The legislation establishes a National Community Service Secretariat to oversee the implementation of the programme and provides courts with the option of imposing supervised community service instead of prison terms in eligible cases.

The bill forms part of wider criminal justice reforms aimed at reducing Ghana’s reliance on imprisonment for minor offences, easing pressure on the country’s prisons and promoting the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders.

The Minister for the Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, laid the bill before Parliament on 4 March 2026 under Article 106(1) of the 1992 Constitution.

It was subsequently referred to Parliament’s Committee on Defence and Interior before being approved by the House.

Once the law comes into force, the National Community Service Secretariat will be responsible for coordinating and supervising the programme, marking a significant shift towards restorative justice and rehabilitation in Ghana’s sentencing system.