A group picture of participants at the conference
Visitors in the country would be able to apply for the extension of their permits up to 6 months without necessarily going to the headquarters of the Ghana Immigration Service.
This is due to a new directive given to the Greater Accra and Tema Regional commands of GIS which grants them the mandate to issue extension of visitor’s permit.
The two regional commands would, however, be unable to extend permits beyond three months at the first instance of applying while application beyond six months shall still be referred to the headquarters.
The Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Kwame Asuah Takyi, made this known when he addressed some high ranking officials of GIS at the opening ceremony of the Regional Commanders Conference which was held in Accra on Thursday December 20, 2018.
The purpose of the two days conference was to address issues pertaining to Ghana’s borders as was clearly highlighted in the theme, “Responding to Contemporary Border and Internal Security Threats: The Role of the Ghana Immigration Service”.
The programme was attended by some management members of the service, Members of GIS Council and the Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery, who was the guest speaker.
As part of measures to help GIS discharge its duties effectively and also get closer to the general public, Mr Takyi hinted at the extension of authorisation for the issuance of visitor’s permit to all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Offices in the coming year.
“To pilot this programme, Asuogyaman, Winneba and Krobo Odumasi District offices have been authorised to issue extension of visitor’s permit for up to a period of three months,” he said.
He also pledged to pursue an agenda of transforming the GIS by ensuring that a new Immigration Act was enacted to replace the Immigration Act 2000, Act 573 which, according to him, did not reflect the current trends and challenges of migration, boarder management and national security.
He mentioned also some initiatives under the agenda which include the creation of new departments and units, procurement of limited quantity of fire arms and the restructuring of the organisation’s hierarchy through series of promotions.
Mr Dery, for his part, emphasised the need for more cooperation in fighting crimes which had become more sophisticated and well organised.
Such cooperation, he noted, should be in the form of teamwork and the free flow of information within the structures of the Service.
“The Service should also ensure collaboration with other sister state institutions as well as organizations within and outside Ghana in the areas of logistical, knowledge and intelligence sharing,” he added.
He commended GIS for a successful recruitment and training of 301 Cadet Officers and 740 recruits.
“I am also aware that the Service is procuring additional vehicles such as Nissan pick-ups from its internally generated funds to supplement government’s efforts. Accordingly, the Directorate had recently purchased 12 Nissan 4×4 Pick-Ups for distribution across Commands and offices of the Service,” he announced.
By Issah Mohammed