'Lawless' ECOWAS immigrants to be flushed out from Ashanti Region

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei, has vowed to weed out lawless ECOWAS immigrants in the Ashanti region whose activities have become a security threat to the region.

He observed that some of these immigrants are abusing the protocol of the sub-regional bloc that allows free movement of persons and goods within member states for 90 days.

According to him, the activities of some of these foreigners are threatening the people, noting some are driving unlicenced vehicles and motorbikes with impunity in the region.

“Security in Kumasi is improving significantly, but we would soon embark on an initiative to weed out all of these ECOWAS foreign immigrants whose residence permit has expired and are still staying in the region.

“[They] are using unlicenced vehicles and motorbikes across the region. They are abusing the ECOWAS Protocol which allows them to stay in the country for 90-days”, he told Bright Kwesi Asempa on the Wednesday’s edition of Onua FM’s morning show “Yen Nsem Pa”.

Mr Osei indicated that it has become very difficult for regional authorities to deal with the situation because they are not familiar with the licencing systems in other ECOWAS member countries.

That, he expalained has given these immigrants an advantage of the situation to continue using unlicensed vehicles and motorbikes even when their 90-day period has elapsed.

“Can you imagine if any of those cars have been used to commit crime, it will be difficult for people to identify such cars, especially their number plates? These are some of the ways we intend fighting crime in the region,” he said.

Meanwhile he has assured strict enforcement of the laws to prevent further violations, especially by ECOWAS immigrants in the region.