Avoka heads Ghana Immigration Board

Mr Cletus Avoka, Member of Parliament for Zebilla Constituency and a former Minister of the Interior has been appointed to head a nine-member Board of Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

Other members are: Dr Ahmed Abdulai Jinapor, Mr John Owusu Amankrah, Mr Robert Orraca Tetteh, Nana Essilfuah Boison, Commissioner of Police Dr Peter A. Wiredu, of GIS, Mrs Adelaide Anno-Kumi, of the Ministry of the Interior and Mr Alexander Grant Ntrakwa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.

Mr James Agaga, Deputy Minister of the Interior, who inaugurated the Board charged members to work assiduously to remove any rancour within the service.

The Deputy Minister administered the official oath of office and secrecy.

Mr Avoka thanked President John Dramani Mahama for the honour done them and assured him of their preparedness to work hard in building a responsible Immigration Service.

He also assured the staff and management of their resolution to assist the service to enhance its performance and operations.

“We need the cooperation of the ministry, management and the staff to enable us perform because the board alone cannot do anything,” he added.

Mr Avoka noted that Ghana Immigration Service plays a key role in selling the country because they are first to see foreigners entering into the country and the last to see them out of the country.

This, he said, calls for professionalism, discipline and compartment on the part of the personnel to portray a positive image of the country.

He said during his tenure of office as the Minister of the Interior, he proposed the arming of the Border Patrol Unit and it had been approved by the National Security Council but due change in government the decision had not been implemented.

He assured that the new board would revisit the decision and see how to fast track it.

On accommodation, Mr Avoka said government alone cannot build office accommodation throughout the country and called for private partners to assist.

He said there is the need to lobby the Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies to assist in their small ways.

“I know they have been doing that for some government institutions and they can as well assist the Immigration Service,” he added.