The GIS Comptroller-General (middle) and others after the launch
THE GHANA Immigration Service (GIS) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) have launched a project to strengthen border security measures in the northern parts of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo in Accra.
The project, dubbed: ‘Strengthening the Northern Borders of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo’, is funded by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement of the Government of United States of America, and aimed at raising awareness on the project among key stakeholders in the immigration and border management thematic space.
It also seeks to provide an update on ongoing IBM strategic interventions while drawing linkages to the project; and initiating a preliminary conversation around the outlook of border security and community resilience in current times.
In his welcome address at the launch of the project, Comptroller General of the GIS, Kwame Asua-Takyi cautioned that each migration-related problem is serious individually, but together, they pose a great threat to the peace and security of the country and “we must deal with it.”
“Just as we take issues of economics serious, so must we also take issues of border security management serious,” he stressed.
Border security, he intimated, requires international cooperation and coordination, and therefore efforts from all three countries must be matched equally if we want to have the full impact across board.
He added that his outfit, and for that matter Ghana, is not relenting on its efforts in securing the northern borders as it recently embarked on an operation in which 500 officers were deployed to beef up security and ensure safety there.
An official from the IOM, Iwuora Nnamdi remarked that when properly managed, migration can contribute greatly to the development of every nation.
He said with border security being crucial to the overall management of migration in various countries, there was the need for structures to be put in place to adequately manage the challenges that confront migration issues such as poor data processing and analysis, porous borders, trans-border crimes etc.
He called for a multi-faceted approach in dealing with the various challenges by improving border infrastructure; improving information processing and management at the borders; enhancing humanitarian border management; promoting community cooperation as well as promoting cooperation in the sub-region.
Launching the project, Deputy Minister for the Interior, Naana Eyiah Quansah stressed that government has a vital duty of protecting the country’s borders from being used for various nefarious activities, especially as border security maintenance has proven to be a great challenge for the world in recent times.
She assured of government’s commitment to protecting the country’s borders while promoting lawful entry and access through the rollout of various programmes to check excesses at the country’s borders.
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio