In a bid to consolidate the gains made under the implementation of its 2011-2015 strategic plan, Ghana Immigration Service, GIS, is set to carry out a strategic new plan from 2018 to 2022.
The plan is expected to address new issues and the changing dynamics within the GIS work environment.
The strategic plan sets out vision, mission, priorities and strategic objectives of the GIS, which are to manage migration n the national interest; and contribute to national security.
Speaking at the final validation workshop of the 2018-2022 strategic plans, the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Kwame Asuah Takyi said, “In the next five years, the strategic plan should transform the operations to deliver excellence in security and migration management for national development.”
Takyi mentioned that, the strategic document will serve as the blueprint for the GIS’s development and enhancement of its service delivery to its stakeholders, and to the benefit of the citizens as well.
“With the development of the first ever strategic plan, the GIS went beyond strategically positioning itself to effectively tapping into the benefits of a moving population,” he noted.
This was to ensure that the needed capacities and capabilities were developed to handle the increasingly diverse and complex immigration services, which GIS required.
Takyi, however said, some very critical projects fundamental to the growth of the service have not yet seen any noticeable improvements by way of implementation.
This, he attributed largely to funding limitations.
Projects like provision of staff and office accommodation, as well as provision of ICT infrastructure remains deficient and lacking.
The draft plan has six components, namely; human resources, law and policies, stakeholder cooperation, ICT, equipment and infrastructure, and funding and financing.
Some of these components are rollovers from the previous strategic plan.
The development of the new strategic plan is jointly funded by the European Union and ECOWAS under the project support to Free Movement of Persons and Migration in West Africa (FMM West Africa), and it is being implemented by International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).
By Joshua W. Amlanu
