The Ghana Immigration Service has warned that Ghana may be harbouring transnational criminals, which may also have repercussions on the country’s security.
This is due to the failure of organizations to conduct extensive checks on foreigners they admit into their institutions.
According to the Weija Sector Command of the Ghana Immigration Service, which encompasses Weija Gbawe, Ga Central, and Ga South Municipalities of the Greater Accra region, most institutions, including tertiary schools, fail to undertake extensive background checks before admitting foreigners.
The situation is even worse with owners of residential facilities.
The outfit is cautioning against this trend, stating that Ghana risks becoming home to criminals engaged in various forms of crime, including terrorism in neighboring countries.
Commander for the sector, Chief Superintendent Richard Coffie, told Citi News that it was always prudent for owners of residential facilities, employers, and schools to inspect the residence, work, and school permits of foreigners they admit ensuring that they have been profiled by the immigration service and have no criminal record.
He admonished entities to cooperate with personnel of the immigration service to make their operations more fruitful. Nonetheless, he says his outfit has been working assiduously to monitor the activities of foreigners.
However, the command is constrained with challenges, including a lack of decent office space.
“Our major challenge is the increasing number of foreigners in the country and the failure on the part of organizations to run extensive checks on them. This may, in the long run, lead to Ghana harbouring transnational criminals. We urge organizations to deal with us in flushing out such persons,” Chief Superintendent Richard Coffie said.
Operating from a former office of departments under the Weija Gbawe Assembly, it took personnel of the Immigration Service here at the sector command to renovate the edifice, giving it a facelift.
However, the lack of decent washrooms poses a challenge to personnel, especially female officers. Both male and female officers share one toilet facility, causing a lot of inconvenience.
The command has taken the initiative to construct one for themselves and is appealing for support.
The appeal has received a positive response, as the Empire Cement factory located within the Weija enclave has donated some 300 bags of cement with an unspecified amount to cater for workmanship.
Managing Director of the company, Stephen Qi, says the gesture is to aid the service in gaining a befitting office to enhance the welfare of personnel.