The European Union Emergence Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa, through a four-year project with Ghana, has present five vehicles, five motorbikes, 15 computer laptops, and 32,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).
The vehicles consist of three pick-ups and two minibuses, and the PPE were 10,000 disposable face masks, 10,000 number of reusable masks and gloves, and 200 bottles of hand sanitisers, and were presented under the project name: “Strengthening Border Security in Ghana (SBS-Ghana).”
Joining the handing over ceremony yesterday in Accra was the Minister for the Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery, who lauded the EU for the support as well as admonishing the GIS officers to ensure the equipment is utilised to guard the use of unapproved routes into the country.
He stated that migration management was one of the prioritised agenda of the government, therefore, projects such as this are highly appreciated to augment the government’s efforts towards enhancing migration issues by securing the borders.
The Minister added that intensifying border security during this Covid-19 era had become paramount, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the virus is here to stay.
In this perspective, Mr Ambrose Dery gave the assurance that the government was committed to enhancing the capacity of the GIS and other agencies to better manage migration issues, and had earlier last month delivered 15 Nissan pickups to the service.
Believing that if the GIS is given much resources it could do more, the Minister reiterated: “It is, therefore, welcoming for the GIS to receive these vehicles, laptops, motorbikes and PPE from the EU in support towards the fight against Covid-19.”
The Comptroller General of Immigration, Kwame Asuah Takyi, on his part, said the four-year SBS-Ghana project was a 2018-2022 Strategic Plan that provides the Government of Ghana’s migration policy with a comprehensive approach to migration management.
He said before the launch of this project, GIS had been in constant collaboration with the EU and some of its member states for the implementation of strategic projects to reinforce the mandate of the Service – regulation and monitoring of points of entry and exit, enforcements, border patrols, and intelligence gathering.
Mr Takyi added that the collaboration between the GIS and the EU had become keen with the upsurge of the Covid-19, as the laptops would facilitate virtual meetings and training on contingency planning and situational awareness creation on the pandemic and other related matters.
On behalf of the officers and personnel of the GIS, the Comptroller thanked the EU and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) for the continuous support.
The EUTF Project Manager, Marco Bordignon, said the presentation of the equipment marked the European Union’s support for the GIS’ response to Covid-19 and other future emergencies.
He said the equipment, which was estimated at 280,000 Euros, was for the frontline staff engaged in border control and patrols.
The aim of the project, he said, was to improve border management and security in the country by reducing irregular migration, human trafficking, smuggling of goods, and other cross-border crimes.
Mr Bordignon added that the project hoped to build the capacities of personnel of the Service to boost their existing efforts and capacity to effectively respond to future crises.
The post GIS receives vehicles, PPE from EU appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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