CONSTRUCTIONAL WORK ON GIS OFFICE AT ZEBILLA STARTS (OCT 5, PAGE 35)

THE Minister of the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka and the Director General of the Ghana Immigration Service, Mrs Elizabeth Adjei, have jointly cut the sod for the commencement of an office building for the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at Zebilla in the Upper East Region.
The new office infrastructure, estimated at GH¢60,000, is solely being funded by the government.
The projects, comprising four offices, two cells, a general office and washrooms, when completed, will enhance the work of the immigration officers, who are currently operating in a makeshift structure.
At the ceremony, Mr Avoka advised the security personnel to be disciplined, execute their duties with professionalism and be loyal to the government of the day.
He urged the personnel at the borders to be vigilant, stressing that if they did that, they would successfully accomplish the task ahead of them.
The interior minister emphasised that as a region sharing borders with countries like Togo and Burkina Faso, where there were many activities, the region had a lot of challenges to meet.
He, therefore, charged the personnel at the borders to be extra-vigilant to stem the tide.
Mr Avoka mentioned some of the challenges as cattle rustling, armed robbery, fuel smuggling, narcotic drugs peddling, and illegal entry of Fulani herdsmen into the country to cause havoc to the vegetation and child trafficking.
In response to a request to arm personnel of the border patrol unit of the GIS, in view of the challenging roles they performed, Mr Avoka said he had taken notice of it, adding that a memo would be sent to the Cabinet for further deliberation.
The Director General of the GIS, Mrs Adjei, commended the personnel in the region for the good work they were doing.
She said the Bawku sector, under which Zebilla falls, was one of the largest border sector commands in the country.
According to Mrs Adjei, the construction of the office building in the area would not only improve the safety and security of people, but also enhance business.
She said it would also give life to and invigorate the area through interaction and cross-cultural activities between Zebilla in Ghana and Zabre in Burkina Faso.
Mrs Adjei said the provision of offices would help to create jobs in the area.
She expressed the appreciation of the service to the Bawku West District Assembly for releasing plots of land for the construction of quarters for officers as well.
Mrs Adjei appealed to the people in the area to give their fullest support to the operations of the service in the area.
She was also grateful to the District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area, Mr Adam Imoro Anaba, for promising to provide the service with a motorbike to enhance patrol duties of the border area.
The Deputy Regional Minister, Mrs Elizabeth Awuni, urged the personnel to collaborate with other security agencies in the region to fight crime.
The officer in charge of the Zebilla border post, Assistant Superintendent of Immigration, Mr Christopher Attivor, said through their vigilance at the border, an Algerian of questionable identity who entered the country through an unapproved route was arrested, detained and handed over to the police and later deported.
He added that earlier this year, two men were also arrested and handed over to the police for trafficking four children from the Garu-Tempane District.
The Bawku Sector Commander of Immigration, Mr George Atanga, highlighting some operational successes chalked up, said some illegal immigrants suspected to be involved in the communal conflict in Bawku were refused entry between January 2007 and August 2009.
He also said the sector intercepted 48 traffickers from the period 2008 and July, 2009, adding that three notorious cross border animal rustlers from Togo and Burkina Faso were arrested by the patrol team and subsequently handed over to the police for further action.