GIS to take stringent measures against erring officers

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has put in place a stringent mechanism to deal with unprofessional conduct of officers.

With the coming into force of fresh Code of Conduct and Reporting Mechanism, termed “Triple S”, the Service is counting on the general public to help check the unprofessional conduct of its personnel.

Chief Superintendent Michael Amoako-Atta, Head of Public Affairs at the launch of “Triple S” in Accra on Monday, said the code of conduct was to ensure that their stakeholders are properly served. Since the Service deals with entry, monitoring and exit documentation, he said GIS would not countenance any misconduct of personnel to taint its image.

According to him, it is unlawful for GIS officers to ask for money to facilitate documentation process or deliberately cause a delay to force those who are being served to part with money.

C/Supt Amoako-Atta added that a culture of trust is urgently required between Officers and the public, for the sake of security.

In a very clear and loud message, C/Supt Amoako-Atta stated that the changing trend in migration management and border security makes it imperative for the Service to step up its efforts in effectively protecting the territorial integrity of Ghana.

He pointed out that the past seven years have seen a quadrupling of the Service’s manpower and that if care is not taken to properly manage the new in-take, it can affect their institutional culture.

“It is in the light of this that the Comptroller-General of Immigration set up the Technical Working Group for the drafting of the Code of Conduct and Reporting Mechanism, also called the Code,” he stressed.

The Head of Public Affairs indicated that the Code was launched on August 10, 2023 as part of the Strengthening Border Security in Ghana (SBS Ghana) programme.

“It is from this background that the Ghana Immigration Service has augmented efforts in ensuring strict discipline and professionalism among Officers, while affording the beautiful people we serve the opportunity to seek redress for unprofessional conducts of Officers.

“This led to the production of a comprehensive Code of Conduct and Reporting Mechanism for the Ghana Immigration Service, which was launched few months ago,” he explained.

The ‘Triple S Campaign’ aims to promote integrity, accountability and transparency in the Ghana Immigration Service by raising awareness primarily among the general public on expected professional and ethical standards.

He urged the public to report unprofessional incidents to the Service, adding that they must ensure that they don’t conflict officers of the Immigration with other personnel.

C/Supt Amoako-Atta further encouraged the public to contact GIS on;  ipse.complaint@immigration.gov.gh, 0800-101-112 and 0800-224-466.

He proudly stated that the GIS had begun acting on complaints within 24 hours and had interdicted officers in that regard.