With the battle lines drawn in the raging destructive inferno at Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) a security analyst has suggested immediate response to the allegations being peddled before the situation gets out of control.
The analyst, Dr Adam Bona, in a telephone conversation with The Chronicle on Saturday, alluded to the fact that a house divided cannot stand, referring to the operational responsibilities of GIS in our fight to wardoff threats from terrorists.
Bystanders who agreed with the suggestion from the security analyst are of the view that the wild allegations, if not responded to by the GIS high command, have the potential to cause havoc amongst the rank and file of the service.
The respected security guru emphasised the need for GIS as a relevant state security body with oversight responsibilities of our borders to resolve the issues internally, since there is the magnitude of exploding beyond control.
He added that happenings in the sub-region with regard to security matters call for unity among our security establishments.
Dr Bona also stressed the need for the supervisory ministry to look into the circumstances, if the service itself fails to act appropriately.
The Chronicle’s attempt to seek official clarification on the ongoing turf war hit a stumbling block, as the assurance from official positions suggest that the service would soon come out to inform the public.
The paper, however, managed to tap information from some concerned senior officers who preferred anonymity, that there is truly a syndicate operating within the service.
It came out that sometime last year, before the Controller General of Immigration (CGI), Mr Asuah Kwame Takyi, could attain the mandatory retirement age of sixty, a letter emerged from a senior management source, requesting the CGI to prepare to handover to a Deputy and proceed on leave, prior to retirement.
When that objective was not achieved, the plot to oust him commenced unabated.
The Spear of the nation, probing further, stumbled on information that a Sector in the GIS is equivalent to a Division in the Ghana Police Service and fall directly under Regional Headquarters.
The Ghana Immigration Service Regulations 2016, Legislative Instrument (LI) 2245 states that DEPUTY COMMISSIONER – The service shall have Deputy Commissioners who shall be responsible for the service in each Region and any other command position determined by the Controller.
The Deputy Commissioner shall be assisted by the Assistant Commissioner who shall be second in command in the region or any other command position as may be determined by the Controller General.
ASSISTANT COMMISSIONERS – The service shall have Assistant Commissioners who shall be second in command at the respective regions, major entry points or any other command position as may be determined by the Controller General.
A Sector per GIS administrative policy is headed by Assistant Commissioner and that any senior officer with this rank in charge of a Region is in acting position until a substantive Deputy Commissioner is appointed to the place.
Being a state Security set up, the searchlight of the National Security never dimmed on these commanders wherever they find themselves, be it in the Region or Sector.
The latest reshuffle of the Assistant Commissioners, the paper gathered was as a result of National Security recommendations for these officers to be reassigned.
The state intelligence agency is reported to have found some of these officers not only continually absent from their duty posts, but also unfamiliar with the operational areas that they supervise and that attitude cannot be countenanced in our present dispensation of terrorist threat.
