Ministry of Communications Inaugurates E-Gates

As part of government's digitization agenda and to enhance service delivery, a biometric e-Gates system has been inaugurated at the Kotoka International Airport.

The biometric e-Gates is a total, integrated and web-enabled e-Immigration system that is capable of regulating entry into and exit from Ghana. It also provides a case management system to process permits as well as meet the current and future needs of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications, who performed the inaugural ceremony, indicated that the focus of the e-Immigration system was to provide an end-to-end integration of border control operations, permit and visa management system and business processes, including a document and record management system.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful disclosed that the entire project covered the Headquarters of GIS and subsidiary offices, Kotoka International Airport, Tema and Takoradi Ports, Disaster recovery and the Paga, Aflao and Elubo borders.

She said the key activities involved the implementation of Visa-On-Arrival Service Portal, installation of state-of-the-art Data centre at the GIS Headquarters, implementation of disaster recovery system at National Information Technology Agency (NITA) facilities, implementation of a secure and regular power distribution using appropriate infrastructure and diesel generator, deployment of secure border management system in six ports of entry and the deployment of a centralized Automated Fingerprint Identification System.

Furthermore, she said, the e-Gates would provide automatic border control solution and ease peak traffic workload for Immigration by registered travellers and allow travellers to use their passports to automatically enter and exit the country.

"The e-Gates solution will cater for the Registered Traveller Program and for regular passenger processing. This new system will be replacing PISCES system which only does identification", Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said, adding that it was the expectation of government that GIS would make optimum use of the facility and completely migrate from the present PISCES system to use the new improved Secure Border Management System(SBMS) specifically developed for Ghana that conformed to all global standards.

She, therefore, urged all stakeholders to engage extensive public education to enable the public open up for this innovation.

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