ECOWAS, EU, Others Meet in Accra Over Strategic Plan for GIS

A delegation from the European Union (EU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other stakeholders have met in Accra to fine-tune a five-year strategic plan for the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

Ahead of its launch next month, the stakeholders including Ghana Statistical Services and other ministries, agencies and departments (MDAs), are critiquing the 65-page draft and making inputs to make it robust and more efficient.

The 2018 to 2022 plan, would focus on six components; human resources, law and policies, stakeholder cooperation, Information Communication and Technology, equipment and infrastructure and funding and financing.

Its development and the validation workshop are being funded by the Demand Driven Facility of the EU and ECOWAS under their joint project dubbed "Support to free movement of persons and migration in West Africa".

At the opening of the two day workshop, yesterday, Comptroller-General of GIS, Kwame Asuah Takyi said the previous plan (2011-2015), helped enhance staff capacity and improved supply of infrastructure and equipment.

He said to further strengthen its institutional capacities for migration development and implement other activities outlined in the previous plan, the GIS sought funding to develop the new strategic plan.

He expressed the hope that the new plan which had inputs from both within and outside the service, would transform its operations to deliver excellent security and immigration management for national development.

Thanking the stakeholders for the support, Mr Takyi said GIS was committed to offering safe and legal migration and robust border control through professionalism and integrity.

Albert Siaw-Boateng, Director of Free Movement and Tourism at ECOWAS commended the country for the key role it was playing in ECOWAS free movement through the implementation of various ECOWAS agreements.

He said a taskforce had been put together by the ECOWAS to check issues relating to border control and movement and asked Ghana to continue to ensure that due diligence was done at the borders.

Frederick Varenne, leader of the EU delegation said the priority of the Union was to save the lives of migrants and would give the necessary support towards activities that further that agenda.

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