Cape Coast, July 27, GNA - The Central Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has appealed to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to assist them establish offices in all districts of the Region.
The inadequate office accommodation, inadequate staff coupled with limited logistics has been a bane to the efforts of personnel to deal with immigration issues in all parts of the region, the Service said.
Chief Superintendent Francis Palmdeti, the Regional Commander, who made the appeal, said having offices in all districts would enable the region cater for the right number of personnel to effectively discharge the migration mandate.
The idea, he said, formed part of a two year strategic plan of the Regional Command aimed at ensuring that the Service adequately fulfilled its mandate of managing immigration issues in the region.
Chief Superintendent Palmdeti, who was speaking at a media engagement in Cape Coast on Wednesday, said the position of the region was strategic to the country’s destination for tourism and this required adequate security, especially along it coastlines.
Under the strategic plan, he said, the Service intends to construct two Observation Post along the shoreline between the Cape Coast and Elmina castles and intensify its stationary and mobile patrols to ensure that foreigners did not enter the region illegally through the shoreline.
The Service would also collaborate with the MMDAs and the other security agencies to embark on a sensitisation in the coastal communities on the need to be security alert and volunteer timely information to the Immigration Service.
Chief Superintendent Palmdeti advised landlords to ensure that prospective foreign tenants had the valid travel documents and immigration permits before renting rooms to them.
“Foreigners who overstay and those who enter the country illegally and do not comply with rules and regulations of the country, may pose a threat to your family, neighborhood and country” he said.
Chief Superintendent Palmdeti said the Service would embark on regular hotel, hostel and rest house checks to ensure that owners of such facilities complied with the Aliens Registration Regulation 1974, LI 856.
He said the Service would ensure strict application and enforcement of immigration laws and would prosecute offenders accordingly to serve as a deterrent.
He urged employers of non Ghanaian citizens, and managers of hotels, hostels and rest houses to provide returns of foreigners who had stayed in their facilities to the GIS adding that, it was the only way they could know and watch their activities.
Chief Superintendent Palmdeti said the Service would not renege on its responsibility to build the capacity of officers and ensure that they adhered to the standard operating procedures of the Service.
He urged the media to play a leading role in helping the public to understand, accept and enthusiastically participate in efforts at regulating the activities of foreigners in the region.
Chief Superintendent Palmdeti assured the people of the Central Region maximum security and called for effective stakeholder engagement and cooperation in order to make the campaign a success.
GNA
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS