Ghana Immigration Service would from next year install a database system that would register all persons entering the country in order to monitor and regulate their activities during their stay.
"This would help stem the rampant activities of advanced fraudsters who have found safe haven in the country lately," Mrs Elizabeth Adjei, Director of the Service, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra.
She said a study had been conducted for the establishment of such a mechanism and it would take off in 2003.
Mrs Adjei said the system would help secure the country's boundaries and assist security agencies to easily thwart activities of people who come into the country with clandestine motives.
''Since Ghana is one of the few countries in the Sub-Region with a stable and strong economy it has become attractive to many businesses, both genuine and unscrupulous.
"There is, therefore, the need to have a mechanism to be able to match arrivals with departures and also detect document fraud and impersonation."
She said even though Ghana, like other ECOWAS countries, had signed a treaty on immigration and integration this should not be at the expense of national sovereignty, which for now must be maintained.
The Immigration Chief said the security of anyone entering the country was the primary responsibility of the state and for that matter appropriate measures would have to be in place to ensure this.
Asked whether this new development was not aimed at curbing advanced fraud committed mainly by Nigerians, Mrs Adjei said: "Not all Nigerians are criminals but it also up to Ghanaians to take security seriously."
