Accra, Oct.26, GNA – Mrs Judith Dzokoto-Lomoh, the former Deputy Controller-General, Ghana Immigration Service, has called on the authorities to implement the National Policy on Migration to guide the management of the country’s internal, intra-regional and international migration flows.
She expressed concern over delays in implementing the policy after it was launched in 2016, and said the implementation would promote the benefits and minimise the costs of migration.
Mrs Dzokoto-Lomoh made the call on Tuesday at this year’s conference on the topic: “Effects of Regional Migration on National Economic Policy,” organised by the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), with support from Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), a political foundation in Germany.
The conference aimed at bringing together stakeholders from key sectors including agriculture, trade, academia, civil society and representatives of migrant communities, to deliberate and share perspectives on the topic.
Ghana launched the Policy in April 2016 with support from the International Organisation on Migration Development Fund project: “Developing a Migration Policy to integrate Migration into the National Development Framework for Ghana”.
It comprehensively addresses key issues in Ghana including irregular migration, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, labour migration, brain drain and gain, diaspora engagement, dual citizenship, remittances, readmission, and reintegration of Ghanaian migrants, border management, and refugee issues.
The former Deputy Controller-General said migration issues had become a global phenomenon and had come to stay and called for a holistic and comprehensive approach in dealing with the menace.
She said migration had both negative and positive impact on the country’s socio-economic development and it was imperative for the country to maximise its benefits for sustained growth.
Mrs Dzokoto-Lomoh said most people migrated due to employment in the agriculture, mining, and tourism sectors, as well as insecurity in their countries, among other things, and urged African leaders to develop targeted policies to address the situation.
“We need to align migration trade with investment, adopt flexible labour policies to ease migration movement and adopt gender sensitive measures to unlock the challenges associated with migration issues,” she said.
Professor Samuel Kwaku Bonsu, the Rector of GIMPA, said concerted efforts were needed to address migration issues and expressed the optimism that the conclusions and recommendations would provide enhanced understanding towards better policy formulation for movement programmes in the various sectors.
He commended KAS for providing technical assistance to GIMPA over the years on various topics including Migration to meet its mandate of being the centre of excellence in teaching and learning.
Dr Arne Wuff, the Resident Representative, KAS-Ghana, said Ghana had one of the offices built in Africa and expressed satisfaction with the cooperation with GIMPA to organise the conference and find solutions to migration issues in the region.
GNA