EU donates documents verification devices, 5 motorcycles to GISEU

The European Union (EU) as part of efforts to enhance Ghana’s security yesterday donated document verification devices and five motorcycles worth EUR 1 million to the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

The gesture, according to the EU would among others, also ensure greater security for citizens and visitors, while guaranteeing the respect for the rule of law and human rights standards by border management authorities.

This is the second donation by the EU to the GIS within the framework of the Strengthening Border Security in Ghana (SBS Ghana) project which beyond capacity building and training activities included donation of special security equipment.

The four-year SBS Ghana project worth EUR 5 million aims at improving border management and security in Ghana by reducing irregular migration, human trafficking, the smuggling of goods and other cross-border crimes.

Handing over the items to the GIS, Ambassador of the EU to Ghana, Mr Irchad Razaaly, said the EU would continue to strengthen its partnership with Ghana in the fight against transnational organised crime and border security with technical trainings, supporting Ghanaian law enforcement agencies to acquire knowledge, skills and tools to reinforce their efforts against international organised crime and security on land.

He said the SBS Ghana project was funded by the EU through the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa and implemented by the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in collaboration with the GIS.

The Ambassador assured of his outfit’s commitment to supporting Ghana in diverse ways to promote security and development.

The Comptroller General of the GIS, Mr Kwame Asuah Takyi in his remarks said his outfit had over the years collaborated with the EU to implement very strategic projects to reinforce its position and mandate of ensuring effective management of migration in Ghana.

Touching on the EU Trust Fund (EUTF) SBS Ghana project, he said right from the beginning of the project’s implementation in 2019,  the GIS had achieved great successes adding that the EU continued to remain steadfast in its quest to ensure that the GIS was well resourced to execute its mandate.

Mr Asuah Takyi expressed gratitude to the EU for the support, saying the items received were key arsenal “in an all-out war against these global threats.”

“This donation will go a long way to help meet the target of providing adequate resources to the service. We are grateful for the generous support,” he added.

In a speech read on his behalf, Minister for Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery, indicated that reducing illegal migration, human trafficking, smuggling of goods and other cross border crimes was not  the responsibility of the GIS only.

He said every member of the public could play different roles in ensuring the Service received adequate resources to fight against terrorists’ attacks, money laundering, human trafficking and drug trafficking among other offences.

The minister also advised the GIS to ensure the items received were used for the intended purpose and maintained well.

BY RAISSA SAMBOU