A Seven-Year Strategic Plan aimed to guide the aspirations of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) to enhance its mandate was launched in Accra yesterday.
The Strategic Plan (2023-2029) being the third, builds on the successes chalked and improves upon the limitations that hindered the successful implementation of the 2018 to 2022 Strategic Plan.
It was develop with the technical assistance of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) under the project “Strengthening Border and Migration Management in Ghana (SMMIG),” funded by the Government of Denmark.
Launching the plan, the Minister for the Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery, said the Strategic Plan provided a roadmap for the GIS to operate an efficient, fair and firm immigration system that meets the social and economic needs of the country.
He said it also provided an effective monitoring and evaluation system which would guide in gauging the performance of the GIS and the impact of the implementation of the plan.
The minister indicated that the plan focused on four key components, namely; Border Management, Transnational Crime Prevention, Enforcement, and Organisational Drivers which spelt out strategies to facilitate the transformational agenda of becoming a model Immigration Service for migration management and the security of Ghana.
Mr Dery assured the Service of government’s commitment to supporting the implementation of the Strategic Plan.
“Accordingly, I urge all stakeholders in the migration management space to come on board to support the implementation of activities outlined in the Strategic Plan for better management of migration in Ghana and globally,” he added.
The Comptroller General of Immigration, Mr Kwame Asuah Takyi, said the Strategic Plan would help the Service to position itself strategically in its operational environment by aligning effectively with the changes taking place in its environment.
He said though the primary responsibility of implementing the Strategic Plan lies with the Management and Officers of the Service, with the support of the Governing Council, it could achieve the successful implementation of the Plan, saying “we are well aware that successful implementation of the Strategic Plan would require a combined effort of our stakeholders.”
“We shall therefore endeavour to build and sustain linkages and collaborations with all our stakeholders to enhance synergy among players in the migration management arena in pursuit of the realisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator 10.7, which calls on countries to ‘facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies’ which is ultimately aligned to our vision,” he stated.
The Comptroller General commended the Denmark government for its support and other stakeholders for their contributions in facilitating the processes and implementation of the plan.
The Head of Office and Project Manager, ICMPD, Mrs Amala Obiokoye-Nwalor, in a speech read on her behalf said migration governance was “not a one-agency job,” hence the need for other government institutions, development partners and non-state actors to rally behind the GIS and support the implementation of the plan.
ICMPD, she said believed in the development potential of migration when done in a safe and regular manner and expressed their commitment to supporting the government of Ghana in its effort of governing migration in a safe, orderly and humane manner.
BY VIVIAN ARTHUR
