The challenge of securing Ghana’s borders has become increasingly critical, especially amidst recent threats of violent extremism. In response, the Ghana Immigration Service has developed a software solution aimed at providing real-time information on entry and exit activities across different border points.
This initiative seeks to effectively tackle the persistent issue over the long term.
Chief Superintendent Anita Afumaa Gyasi, leading the statistics unit at the Management Information System Department of the Ghana Immigration Service, explains to Citi News that gathering migration data, particularly at minor entry points, has been a challenging task for officers over the years.
“When we talk about data, it is key for all institutions. The Ghana Immigration Service takes data on migration as well as travelers. When we say migration data, we are talking about the various permits that they do request for. People who are willing to stay in the country would have to apply for a permit. So that one comes into the migration data. When you say traveler data, any traveler who uses our entry-exit point is a traveler, and we take data on them. Currently, most of our border posts do not have any electronic system to take the data. We do it manually, which makes analysis as well as data collection very difficult. So we are in an era where we have to switch to get a system, an electronic system that will enable us to collect our data. And when you collect data, it makes analysis very easy.”
“At any point in time when you want specific data, whether individual or comprehensive, it will be accessible to the Ghana Immigration Service, accessible to the general public, and it will also be accessible to our mother body, the Ghana Statistical Service so that it will enhance data productivity under the national statistical system. Currently, the old system, which is the manual one, takes a lot of time for our analysis as well as collation.”
A promising development emerges with a newly created system by engineers from the Ghana Immigration Service, designed to assist officers in addressing various challenges at the borders.
Officers nationwide are undergoing training to adeptly utilize this innovative technology, with a significant gathering taking place in the Ashanti region.
The Ghana Immigration Service’s Ashanti Regional Commander, ACI Charles Yaw Bediako, hails their latest intervention as a game-changer.
“The borders currently are porous, but we are trying to minimize it by getting some software, that is, the border and permit management processing. It is going to help us be able to get the number of people who use our borders in the form of nationality, sex, and age to determine which people are in the country and the purpose of their presence in the country.
“We will be able to monitor what they are doing in the country. Currently, when we look at the global situation, we are talking about terrorists and other people. So we have to at least as a service know about them by knowing their names and data. So when we collect this data, they help us monitor their activities in the country. We can’t put names out there, but it’s meant for us to monitor them. And with statistics, it helps us know how many people are in the country, their nationality, and their ages. And if it’s about planning anything, the numbers will help the government plan.”
Highlighting cost-effectiveness, the Ghana Immigration Service encourages other institutions and agencies to follow suit by leveraging in-house expertise to create such solutions, ultimately saving the country valuable resources.