Immigration officers trained in irregular migration, border security

The Strengthening Border and Migration Management in Ghana (SMMIG) project has trained and enhanced the capacity of over 1,000 immigration officers to investigate, detect document fraud and manage irregular migration and border security issues. 

The Phase Two SMMIG project, organised by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), in collaboration with the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), aims to strengthen the institutional capacity of the immigration service to combat irregular migration.

It is being funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The first phase of the project ran from December 2018 to November 2021, while the second phase began from August 2021 to July 2024.

The project aimed to enhance the country's national security, manage migration flows and strengthen the institutional capacities in cybersecurity, document fraud detection, immigration offence prosecution and intelligence gathering.

The project also awarded participants for their outstanding performance and contribution at the end of the project. 

Rationale

The Head of the West Africa Region of the ICMPD, Dr Mojisola Sodeinde, stressed that the project aimed to enhance the capability and effectiveness of the GIS.

The project, she said, had incorporated the “training of trainers concept”, ensuring that the GIS retained the ability to continuously train officers even after the project.

She expressed the hope that the project would be sustained and continue to strengthen the GIS and contribute to broader national security and effective migration management goals.

Dr Sodeinde said the project had organised joint trainings and seminars to promote information and experience sharing for the GIS as it collaborated with other security agencies to secure borders, combat irregular migration and prosecute migration-related and cross-border crimes.

“In one aspect of the project, we focused on building the capacity of the GIS regional commands to detect document fraud, significantly enhancing their ability to identify fraudulent documents at the regional level before they reach border control points,” she added.

She said the establishment of a fraud office in the Ashanti Region would ensure the prompt detection and investigation of fraud cases in areas such as Bono East, Ashanti among others.

Robust

The Deputy Ambassador of the Denmark Embassy, Vibeke Sandholm Pedersen, stressed the need for robust immigration controls and capacity-building initiatives that would build the country’s immigration services and enhance the GIS to effectively and efficiently perform its mandate.

"We recognise the immense development potential of migration when done safely and regularly, however, if not managed properly, criminals may exploit this freedom to commit crimes,” she said.

She said the Danish government was committed to continuing to invest in other areas of interest in the country such as maritime security, adding that, “we have invested nearly 600,000 euros in providing various equipment, tools and software for the GIS”.

Those investments, she said, demonstrated Denmark's broader strategy of enhancing security and governance structures in the country and the region.

Appreciation

The Comptroller General of the GIS, Kwame Asuah Takyi, therefore, thanked the stakeholders for their support, adding “migration management globally required concerted effort”.

The project, he said, had led to the evaluation of the 2018-2022 strategic plan and the development and launch of the new strategic plan for 2023-2029.

“This new strategic framework is expected to guide the service's operations until the end of 2029, to realise the vision of becoming a model immigration service for migration management and national security,” he said.

He added that the project had facilitated the revision of many existing standard operating procedures and assisted in updating the Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573).