Immigration service at the Kulungugu border post
An Assistant Superintendent of Immigration in charge of the Kulungugu border post in the Pusiga District of the Upper East Region, Mr Kenneth Dzimega, has called on government to facilitate the amendment of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) Act 573 of 2000 in order to empower personnel of the service to handle weapons.
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According to him, such a move will enable the personnel at the Kulungugu border to effectively bring under control the high rate of smuggling of light weapons, petroleum products, vehicles and fertiliser in and out of the country.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic at Kulungugu, Mr Dzimega said quite a number of smugglers in that part of the country were armed and because of the prevailing conditions, personnel of the service were incapacitated and could not stop them.
"The possibility of losing one’s life in trying to check the armed smugglers is high and so personnel of the service are not able to effectively clamp down on their activities," he said.
Furthermore, he said some smugglers had taken advantage of the conflict in Bawku and were smuggling light weapons into the country through unapproved routes, which was why personnel of the service needed to be equipped adequately to counteract their activities.
“A significant number of personnel of the GIS has been trained in handling weapons,” he said.
Lack of logistics
The Head of the Kulungugu border post also decried the lack of logistics such as vehicles, motorbikes and cameras that they needed for their work.
He said the only vehicle that was available for the border got involved in an accident years ago but it had not been replaced till date, making it difficult for personnel at the border to undertake effective patrols.
He also stressed the need for accommodation, saying, "It is difficult for personnel to live in rented apartments in the communities since they cannot act when they see irregularities for the fear of losing their lives."
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Encroachment
Mr Dzimega said he was not happy about the encroachment on lands around the border. He said some residents in the area had put up unauthorised structures such as stores and houses, thereby impeding "our work."
He admitted, however, that ejecting such residents from the area might also involve compensating them. He suggested, therefore, that the matter must be looked into carefully before any action was taken.
Achievements
According to Mr Dzimega, in spite of the challenges, personnel at the Kulungugu border have over the years been able to check a number of criminal activities including human trafficking. He cited two instances in which his men were able to intercept a vehicle that was trafficking some children from Burkina Faso to Ghana.
In another instance, he said through intelligence gathering, a man who was reportedly trafficking some children from one of the francophone countries to Kumasi was arrested.
He also said that in the course of their work, the immigration had intercepted uncustomed goods and smuggled petroleum products that were being brought into the country and had handed over the perpetrators to the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service.
Regarding the Ebola disease, he said with the support of health officials the immigration personnel at the Kulungugu border had refused entry for a number of immigrants who did not meet the necessary requirements at the border.
"In the course of our operations, we have also collaborated with the national security and have seized a number of unregistered vehicles and also made some arrests," he added.
Potential
Mr Dzimega was of the opinion that if the necessary logistics were provided for personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service at the Kulungugu border, government could reap lots of revenue.
He said for instance that the Kulungugu border was positioned on the shortest route between the Tema harbour and Niger and saw a lot of activity.
He added that most transit cargo trucks from Niger that were loaded with items such as onion, salt, building materials and other goods from Tema invariably went through the Kulungugu border post.