Immigration Service launches programme against child trafficking

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Effutu Municipal Command, has launched a project that seeks to help reduce the incidence of child trafficking by 70 percent in the area by the end of 2016.

The Effutu Municipal Commander of the Service, Mrs. Mary Lois Amo-Richmond, said at the launch that part of the Service’s core mandate was to create awareness and to disseminate information to the people on the negative effects of child trafficking.

The project under the theme “Combating the Trafficking of Children for Labour Exploitation in Effutu Municipality” will be executed in collaboration with Effutu Municipal Assembly and Project Abroad, a non-governmental organization.

Mrs. Amo-Richmond mentioned Sankor, Fetteh, Dwoma, Walababa, Atekyedo, Penkye, Ponkorekire, Abasaraba, Ndaama, Eguaboano, Ayipe, Akososua Village and Nsuakyere as communities in the municipality where they conducted the survey.

She said they found out that most people along the coast in these communities gave out their children as young as three for labour in Yeji, Kpando, Adina, Keta and some West African countries and took between 50 and 200 Ghana cedis from the traffickers.

Mr Amo-Richmond said activities to be undertaken to combat the menace include capacity building, community sensitization and education, awareness raising and information campaigns and Police, Social Welfare Department, CHRAJ and the Municipal Directorate of Education would be involved.

Nii Ephraim Effutu, Municipal Chief Executive, said the enormity of child trafficking and child labour had been so forcefully pushed to the fore to be appreciated as a huge problem in the Municipality.

He said the revelation from the survey was heart breaking, intolerable, inhuman, barbaric and akin to slavery and added that the Effutu Assembly was appealing for cooperation to solve the problem.

The Member of Parliament for the area, Mr. Alex Afenyo-Markin, in a message delivered on his behalf commended the initiators of the project and promised to support it.