By Ibrahim Mohammed Saani
Ashaiman (GAR), June 1, GNA – The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has partnered with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to train border security personnel on anti-corruption, its identification, and prevention in the border control sector.
The workshop, held at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region, was more of an interactive training session involving presentations, case studies, group discussions, and role-play exercises.
Mr Michael Boadi, the Funds Raising Manager of GII, revealed that it was essential to provide regular anti-corruption training for border control personnel to enhance their integrity and professionalism.
That would also increase their awareness of corruption risks and provide them with skills and tools to detect, combat, and prevent corruption in their daily work.
Mr Boadi indicated that globalisation had made it imperative for border control authorities to play a significant role in facilitating the flow of trade and people across countries while safeguarding national security.
He, however, said the negative impact of corruption, coupled with limited resources and accountability measures, had resulted in porous borders that were challenging to monitor.
Those had led to various illegal activities such as human and drug trafficking, weapon smuggling, organised crime, and terrorism, which threatened the safety and security of citizens, he added.
Corruption played a key role in allowing foreign illegal immigrants into the country because the reason to use illegal roots became a choice when there was an ulterior motive.
He said the happenings in neighbouring countries in matters of terrorism and extremism were widely known, and based on research and expertise, Ashaiman was chosen among the five border posts because of its unique inhabitants of diverse people.
He said the area was an important community when discussing migration and assessing the security implications for migrants.
Also, crime perpetrators usually liked to disperse and find places where they had allies or social networks.
The workshop is part of a project under the Strengthening Border Security in Ghana (SBS Ghana) titled: “Prevention and Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorism,” with the objective of contributing to an effective, transparent, and accountable border security management architecture in Ghana.
The SBS Ghana project is funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), in cooperation with the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).
The participants were selected from the Ghana Immigration Service, Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Ghana Police Service, District Security Council of Ashaiman, Ministry of National Security, Narcotics Control Commission, Port Health, and Port Agricultural Extension.
GNA