Ghana’s deputy foreign minister Samuel Owiredu on Tuesday said that the government would pursue a clearly defined holistic policy direction on migration to enable it derive optimum benefits from migration’s positive effects and minimize the negative consequences.
Launching the national platform on Migration in Accra, Owiredu said there is a growing significance of migrant remittances into Ghana which has become an important source of finance for many rural and urban households.
According to a 2012 World Bank report, for the first time, remittance became the largest external financial source to Africa, ahead of foreign direct investment (FDI).
Return of Ghanaian professionals and semi-skilled migrants to Ghana is on the increase, facilitated by the improved economic conditions and political stability with most returnees going into self-employment and investing in private enterprises.
Owiredu commended the Spanish government as well as the regional bloc for their initiative in instituting the Spain-ECOWAS Fund for migration and development, admonishing stakeholders to join forces to enable them harness the opportunities presented by the fund.
The fund was set up in 2009 to contribute to poverty reduction in the ECOWAS region through effective, sustainable regional integration and capacity building interventions.
Samuel Duodu, representative of civil society organizations on the platform, said the fund will provide support to groups in the sub-region to undertake projects on migration and development that contribute to maximizing positive outcomes that migration brings. Enditem
Source: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh
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