Address our poor pension benefits - GIS to govt

The Comptroller General of the Ghana Immigration Service, Kwame Asuah Takyi, has appealed to the government to amend the Immigration Service Act 908 and legislative instrument to address the current poor retirement condition of officers.

According to the Comptroller, the current retirement condition is demoralizing.

“If you look at all the agencies under Interior especially the security agencies, our pension benefit is nothing to write home about. You retire in such a manner that you go home, if you don’t take care, I don’t know what will happen to you.

“The Pension benefits are very very bad, but the minister has assured me that the government is going to work on our pension benefits. At the end of the day when you work for 30,40 years, you have to retire, go home and enjoy your retirement, not with difficulties. It is nothing to write home about, I don’t want to say it in public when I say it they will feel uncomfortable and I myself I will feel uncomfortable,” the Comptroller said.

He said this at the opening ceremony of the Management and Regional Commanders Retreat in Koforidua on Friday, May 7, 2021, on the theme; “Responding to the Evolving National Security Threats in Era of Covid-19”.

Mr. Kwame Asuah Takyi reiterated the commitment of the service to safeguarding Ghana’s borders against Covid-19 and terrorist infiltrations as well as the fight against illegal mining.

“our response to transnational crimes, especially, at the entry point is very often underestimated which is arguably not the case, therefore there is an urgent need for GIS to ensure effective border security. It is for this reason that strategies have to be adopted to detect, deter and prevent foreign criminal elements and illegal movements at the various borders.”

The Interior Minister Ambrose Dery Ambrose said, coronavirus is a national security threat and must be handled as such with strategic interventions and synergy of interagency approach and collaboration.

He reassured that the government will continue to sustain the gains in containing the pandemic to protect Ghanaians.

The Minister commended the Ghana Immigration Service for its immense effort in the mass contact tracing, securing Ghana’s borders during these crucial times and the maintenance of law and order within the country to the admiration of the international community.

He however said the pandemic and its related health exigencies should be a wake-up call for the need to establish the Department of Health within the Operations of Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

This, he explains, will empower immigration health officers within the Border Management Department to prevent importation of infectious diseases such as coronavirus and swiftly handle health-related issues without overly depending on other agencies which mostly affect efficiency.

“The restructuring must also consider the establishment of the Department of Health within the Operations of GIS. It is increasingly clear, in the context of the Covid-19 experience, that health officers within the Border Management Department will save this country a great deal”.