PAYOM, GIS COLLABORATE TO ENSURE BORDER SECURITY 3rd NOVEMBER, 2023

 A one-day capacity building workshop on the Ghana National Border Security Strategy, has taken place in Paga, capital of the Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East Region, with stakeholders emphasizing the need for the effective implementation of a border security strategy in the area, like the one the Ghana government recently launched. This is to help to strengthen social cohesion and trust from the border communities to help prevent threats of cross-border crime. 

A Cross-border Assemble of Security Officers

The Paga Youth Movement, PAYOM organised the workshop in conjunction with the Paga Command of the Ghana Immigration Service [GIS] and in partnership with the Star Ghana Foundation and funding support from the UK Government.

Stakeholders at the workshop also brainstormed on the development of an action plan for engaging the border communities across the district. An action plan, the facilitator on the day and Secretary of PAYOM, Mr. Godwin Sibido disclosed would include the broadcast of jingles and short drama pieces on radio, drama film shows in the communities, face-to-face engagement with identifiable civil society groupings, market women, various youth groups and selected second cycle schools among others.

 A resource person from the GIS, Officer DSI Robert Ubindam in his presentation on “Border Security Strategy And How It Can Be Incorporated Into The Sensitization On Social Cohesion, Radicalization And Terrorism Through Trust Based Collaboration Between Border Security Agencies And Border Communities”, noted that the government of Ghana through the National Security Ministry and other related stakeholders, has since identified Border Security management as a key component in safeguarding the territorial integrity of the country and in the fight against the imminent threat of violent extremism and terrorism. He said this thus informed, the government’s very recent launch of the National Security Strategy document titled, “A Secured and Prosperous Ghana, with Regional, Continental and Global Reach Influence”.

Officer Ubindam observed that, Ghana’s land borders are largely porous with a number of unapproved crossing points along “our boundary with Burkina Faso stretching from Kayoro in the western part of the Kasena-Nanakana West District through to Yua, in the same district”. Meanwhile, the ethnic-spread across many border communities along the said stretch, also poses a basic challenge to the control of movement of persons and basic necessities across the border.

To the Immigration Officer, this unfortunate scenario creates a vulnerability that violent extremists and terrorists can easily exploit to perpetuate their activities in both countries and therefore, appealed to residents in the border settlements to be vigilant at all times and immediately report to operatives of the security agencies, any weird characters in their communities as well as, strange movements of unfamiliar persons with questionable identities.

According to the officer, the National Border Security Committee designed the Ghana National Border Security Strategy with four goals including to; “Sustain collaborative approach to border management” with an End State of attaining “A unified administration and enforcement of Ghana's borders” while another is to; “Achieve efficiencies in legitimate cross border trade and travels” to attain an End State of “Enhanced process and capacity, modernized infrastructure, promote professionalism, integrity and officers' welfare”.

Star Ghana Foundation’s Projects Manager for the Northern Regions, Mr. Aaron Atimpeh revealed that, there are a number of carefully though-out strategies from his outfit to help the intervention succeed. Some of these include ensuring communities know about the border security strategy [BSS] and the role of border security agencies, working with and through community leadership institutions, building trust between border security agencies and border communities as well as, take cognizance of cross-border relations and becoming sensitive to these relationships while managing the risks therein.

Meanwhile in some remarks made for him at the workshop, Hon. Gerard Ataogye, DCE the Kassena-Nankana West District, commended leadership of the Paga Youth Movement in partnering other intuitions like the GIS and Star Ghana Foundation in helping keep the peace in the district. He said the Assembly always stands to assist institutions in the district to deliver their mandate to the Ghanaian people but as far as resources remain finite, he appealed to the Star Ghana Foundation to stretch a helping hand to the Ghana Immigration Service in the area of logistical support and any other that could facilitate the smooth operations of the Service in its jurisdiction.

Staff of the sector command of the GIS, operatives from the National Investigations Bureau, officers from the GRA Customs Division, officers of the Ghana Police Service, District Directors of the Information Services Department and the NCCE, Military Intelligence Officers, the Dialogue Platform Members, PAYOM Executives and some selected youth groups, all formed part of the stakeholders at the capacity building workshop.