GIS introduces new embarkation and disembarkation forms

Accra, Feb. 19, GNA - The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) would from Sunday, February 20,2005 introduce new embarkation and disembarkation forms to facilitate the collection of data of people entering and leaving the country's entry points.

The forms require any person either entering or leaving the country to give specific information about his or her destination among others.

Ms Elizabeth Adjei, Director of the GIS, who disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said the forms, which replaces the previous ones could be used by either and entrant or persons leaving the country of which different forms were filled for different reasons. She said the new form, which is white in colour, requires detailed information from the travellers, which were required to be fully completed by them accordingly.

She said the primary data collected on the forms would be analysed and used by other agencies such as the Statistical Service, National Population Council among others.

Ms Adjei noted that the core work in immigration was about managing information and how to analyse them accurately for the purposes of the state.

She noted that, due to improper statistics, the number of Ghanaians living outside the country has often been speculative but with good data capturing devices, this situation could be avoided.

The Immigration boss said the new form would reverse this trend especially in analysing the number of people who have been leaving the country and its implication on national development.

In a related development the service has taken delivery of about 60 high- tech computers to be installed at its headquarters, which would serve as a central data processing point.

Ms Adjei said the computers, which were purchase with funds from the Gateway Project, would make access to information easier for the service, especially for security purposes.

She said the centre would collate information from the 30 entry points from all the regions of the country.

She said installation of computers at all border points was being done in graduated pace and Elubo and Paga borders would be completed this year, adding that, with support from the United States' government all major borders would be computerized by the end of 2006.