Corruption among immigration officers worrying – Council Chair

The Chairman for the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) Council, Dr. Edward Prempeh, has described as worrying, the recent perception of corruption among personnel of the Service.

He said the incident is tarnishing the good image the Service has earned over the years.

A recent JoyNews documentary on securing the country’s borders between neigbours, Togo, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso in the wake terror threats, captured some travellers who alleged that officials at the border posts demand they give them money before being allowed entry into the country or crossing over to a neigbouring country.

At a recent tour to the Aflao sector border posts as well as some of the unapproved borders between Ghana and Togo, Dr Prempeh advised the officers to consciously work against the perception of corruption to disabuse the minds of the society and build the confidence of the people.

This, Council Chair said, would help guard themselves against criminal activities that end up tarnishing the image of the Service.

He stated that the inter-agency collaboration between the GIS and sister agencies coupled with a strong relationship with chiefs, opinion leaders and border communities, will enhance the sharing of information and intelligence which is a prerequisite for an effective border management strategy.

The Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Immigration, Peter Claver Nantuo [Esq], lamented, the bad condition the officers endure daily in the discharge of their duties and called for an urgent action about it.

He also complained about issues of the terrain as well as security issues as featured in the JoyNews series on the country’s porous borders.

The Aflao Sector commander, C/Supt Fredrick Duodu said the Command continues to do its best in order to sustain the intensified mobile and static patrols revived actively in July 2018, despite numerous challenges and pockets of resistance from some of the local residents who remain livid about the exercise which took away their source of livelihood.

C/Sup Duodu recounted rampant attacks on officers by some persons who use unapproved routes to smuggle goods into the country.

“On Wednesday 21st August 2019, at approximately 11:00hrs, ICO Daniel Odai who was on duty point at one of the unapproved routes at the beach with a recruit officer Linus Yirzie, was attacked and pushed into the sea when he tried to prevent the attackers from entering Ghana through the beach,“ he revealed.

He wants the logistical issues challenges to be addressed urgently so that the officers can be better equipped to protect themselves from harm from residents using the unapproved routes.

Source: Myjoyonline.com