Refugee figures grossly underestimated

Speaking to Journalists at the weekly press briefings in Accra, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said he was definite that the total number of refugees in the country could be close to 100,000 instead of the current estimate of 60,000. Ghana's refugee figures sky-rocketed in the early 1990s when thousands of refugees fleeing the Liberian civil war streamed into Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso, among other countries.

He said with Ghana as a beacon of peace in a troubled Sub-Region, "it is possible to have refugees taking residence on a daily basis and this must be recorded for the attention of the authorities." Nana Akufo-Addo said it was important to have an accurate number of refugees in the country as a means of ensuring that the security of the country was not compromised. He said the efforts being put in by the government should not be considered as waste since, "it is in our own national interest". "We need tremendous vigilance by all to ensure that we are not overtaken by events, especially in ascertaining and monitoring the status of refugees in the country."

Nana Akufo-Addo said the election of President John Agyekum Kufuor as Chairman of ECOWAS early this year put a great responsibility on all to develop and implement a comprehensive peace initiative for Liberia.