The plan, which is expected to span between 2018 and 2022, is a continuation of an earlier strategic plan that ended in 2015.

[contextly_sidebar id=”oU6T7ChpFCDTzsTBuUkfMCG7Tg0yNtSF”]Briefing the media at a validation workshop, the Chairman of the Strategic Plan Technical Working Group, Deputy Commissioner Eric Afari, said the plan will enhance the effectiveness of the Service and end illegal migration.

“We have set for ourselves five main components that would drive the project, we would be looking at the human resource, which is very key to what we do. As an agency, we want to be sure that our laws and policies are in tandem with international migration laws and policies, and so we would be revising our laws and realigning them to ensure that they synchronize with what the ECOWAS and AU have for us as an agency,” he said.

He said they will collaborate with all agencies that deal with migration issues to achieve a common goal.

“We look at infrastructure and stakeholders for operation, we believe that we are managing migration, but this management has to be able to reflect the international situation and so all agencies responsible for migration development would be brought on board,” he said.

The Ghana Immigration Service has assured the public of adequate security along all of the country’s borders.

There have been a number of terrorist attacks in Mali, Cote d’ Ivoire, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and some other West African countries in recent years.

“We may not have all the logistics that we need, but the little that we have and by our training and conduct, we have been able over the years to maintain security at the country’s borders. Just a year ago when Cote D’lvoire was in crisis we were able to maintain sanity at the borders that there was not much spillover,” he said.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The 500 were sent to the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates [UAE] by fake recruitment agencies for non existing jobs.

[contextly_sidebar id=”zCSOMn5ENqiDxVHz8NmAu92FNqXt2wYn”]Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, however said government is collaborating with authorities in the UAE to repatriate them.

The Minister further indicated that government is working closely with the security agencies to arrest owners and managers of the fake recruitment agencies that only end up exploiting the desperate job seekers.

“As we speak 500 young Ghanaians have been left stranded in Dubai and do not know what to do. The security agencies are tracking  down these recruitment agencies as well as travel and tour companies who are doing this to these young people. These agencies manage to secure only tourism visas for these young people which expires after three months. They charge them between 8,000 and 15,000 cedis to secure them these visas.’’

‘Ban on labour export still in force’

Mustapha Hamid also reiterated that the ban on the export of labour to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is still in force, adding that government will do all it can to enforce the ban.

‘’Let me emphasize that the ban on the exportation of labour to the Gulf is still in force and the security agencies will not hesitate to apply it..’’

There have been several reported cases of abuse and maltreatment of Ghanaians who usually take up jobs as maids and nannies not only in the UAE, but other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Libya.

Over 800 Ghanaians in Saudi Arabia return home

In 2017, about 800 Ghanaian migrants living in Saudi Arabia illegally turned themselves in at Ghana’s mission there to be deported.

This followed a three-month amnesty granted illegal residents by the Saudi government to leave or be sanctioned.

Over 500 Ghanaians to be repatriated from Saudi Arabia

The Ghana Embassy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in May 2017 appealed to Ghanaians living in Saudi Arabia without residency and work permits to take advantage of a package by the Embassy to return them to Ghana.

Ghana’s mission at the time said over 500 people applied voluntarily to be repatriated.

This was because Saudi Arabia announced a 90-day amnesty for persons living in that country illegally who wished to return to their countries of origin as part of the Kingdom’s “A Nation Without Illegal Expatriates” campaign.

Reversing illegal migration’

President Nana Akufo-Addo has vowed to reverse the trend of illegal migration by Ghanaians, by building a sound economy with opportunities for all.

In an address at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, the President stated that it was inappropriate for any Ghanaian to go through the life threatening ordeal of an immigrant.

“There have always been adventurous Ghanaians who would go out and try their luck in other parts of the world but the periods of economic collapse turned our country into places of wholesale emigration,” the President noted.

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By: Sammi Wiafe/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, this comes about because Ghanaians on such  perilous journey often fake citizenship to boost their chances of being granted asylum if they are successful with the journey.

[contextly_sidebar id=”aob1eD0Rg0sO7A02Z3eFK8pFmJBRQHWn”]Mr. Wilmot said Ghanaians are among persons unlikely to be granted asylum in other countries especially in Europe, where they often tend to go in search of greener pastures.

“The situation is dire. The problem is that we don’t hear a lot about Ghanaian migrants losing their lives. This is because, a research we’ve done shows that most Ghanaians because of their quest in seeking asylum in other countries, once they make it known that they are Ghanaians, their chances of being granted asylum is very minimal, and so they take up other nationalities. But with evidence that we have with the returnees that we work with, a lot of Ghanaians are part of this calamity where lives are being lost in their quest to seek greener pastures,” he said.

Kojo Wilmot made the statement on Eyewitness News on Thursday.

His comment comes on the back of a vow made by President Akufo-Addo to reverse the trend of illegal migration from Ghana by building a sound economy with opportunities for all.

In an address at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, the President said no Ghanaian should have to go through that life-threatening ordeal.

“There have always been adventurous Ghanaians who would go out and try their luck in other parts of the world but the periods of economic collapse turned our country into places of wholesale emigration,” the President noted.

Mr. Wilmot said he believes a presidential intervention can help stop illegal migration from Ghana.

The trend of illegal migration according to some experts, is increasingly becoming a national security concern hence the need for firm efforts to address it.

Using Italy and Libya, two major transit points of illegal migration, as an example, since 2014, more than 400,000 African migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy.

A total of 5,636 Ghanaian migrants reached Italy by boat in 2016, up 27% from 2015, and as at April 2017, 823 Ghanaians arrived in Italy for this year alone.

The Brong Ahafo Region has been identified as the region where most youth embark on illegal migration through the Sahara Desert to Europe, according to statistics from the International Organisation for Migration.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The trend he bemoans is increasingly becoming a national security concern hence the resolve to work towards ending same.

[contextly_sidebar id=”spFfU2Ho0kxg8HRHfFx5ZxklyQMzuz6B”]Many continue to move out to the Gulf countries under extremely painful conditions ostensibly in search of jobs and better conditions of life.

In an address at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, the President said no Ghanaian should have to go through that life-threatening ordeal.

“There have always been adventurous Ghanaians who would go out and try their luck in other parts of the world but the periods of economic collapse turned our country into places of wholesale emigration,” the President noted.

Using Italy and Libya, two major transit points of illegal migration, as an example, since 2014, more than 400,000 African migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy.

A total of 5,636 Ghanaian migrants reached Italy by boat in 2016, up 27% from 2015, and as at April 2017, 823 Ghanaians arrived in Italy for this year alone.

The Brong Ahafo Region has been identified as the region where most youth embark on illegal migration through the Sahara Desert to Europe, according to statistics from the International Organisation for Migration.

Diagnosing this problem and its solution, the President noted that: “Widespread unemployment, especially among the youth, the greatest segment of our population as in all African countries, represents the greatest threat to our democracy and stability. Only a performing and rapidly and expanding economy that generates jobs can provide an urgent solution.”

Thus, President Akufo-Addo said his administration was on the way to providing these economic conditions to stem the tide of illegal migration, and transforming the structure of the economy will be key to this.

“The Macro-economy has been stabilizing. The fiscal deficit which stood at 9.5 percent at the end of 2016, has been reduced to 6.3 percent. Inflation within the same period had declined from 15.4 percent to 11.6 percent. Our economy has grown from 3.3 percent to 7.9 percent. Interest rates are declining and we are now witnessing a more stable cedi.”

“We are on the path to creating wealth and improving the lives of our people. We are determined to do that by transforming the structure of our economy… we have to move and we are moving towards an economy of processed agriculture and engineering goods and services. That is the way to job creation on a mass base and an improvement in the incomes of ordinary Ghanaians.”

“Never again should a Ghanaian citizen feel he has to join the desperadoes that cross the Sahara and drown in the Mediterranean sea because their own country holds no promise or hope,” President Akufo-Addo affirmed.

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By: Richard Dela Sky & Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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