Ambrose Dery urges border town residents to present evidence of abuse

The Minister for Interior, Ambrose Dery, has challenged residents of border communities to provide evidence of abuse by security personnel to authorities for investigation and appropriate punishment.

He maintained that the said maltreatment at the registration centres were mere allegations, and challenged anyone who has been abused by security personnel to provide evidence for investigation.

"There is no obstruction at any registration centre because party agents and security agencies are always present," he stressed.

According to him, the supervising authorities will not countenance any act of misconduct on the part of security personnel deployed to protect the country's borders.

The government recently deployed more security personnel to the country's borders to stop foreigners from taking part in the compilation of new voters' register in Ghana.

But the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) accused the government of deliberately deploying the military to intimidate residents in its strongholds prior to the commencement of the voter registration exercise.

But the Interior Minister, speaking on the sidelines during the commissioning of the extended Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) Clinic at the GIS Headquarters in Accra, stated that the issues of abuse surrounding the deployment of security agencies at the borders are only allegations.

He, therefore, charged those alleged to have been abused to provide evidence for the necessary actions to be taken.

Ghana, he said, continues to be a peaceful democratic country.

He was of the view that there could be some disagreements at a centre; however, persons or groups who infringe upon the rights of citizens will never go unpunished under President Nana Akufo-Addo's watch. Expanded clinic

The Minister noted that the expanded GIS Clinic, which also means extension of services to security personnel, was in consonance with President Nana Akufo-Addo’s commitment to ensure the welfare of security officers in the country.

He encouraged the management of GIS to open similar clinics in other regions to enable GIS personnel access medical service within their operational areas.

Mr Dery further charged the authorities of GIS to recruit appropriate personnel to check the health status of people that are allowed into the country, especially in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The GIS Clinic, which was first commissioned in 2018, has been expanded to provide enhanced and quality healthcare to its officers and key stakeholders.

The essence of the expansion is to provide medical examinations to immigrants and immigration officials who see to immigrants on daily basis.

It is also to provide free healthcare to the immigration staff and retired immigration officers.

Following clearance from regulatory bodies, GIS will set up a laboratory at a given space in the clinic to test immigrants and immigration officers manning Ghana's borders for Covid-19 an other infectious diseases.

The move, according to the Comptroller-General of the GIS, Mr Kwame Asuah Takyi, is to ease the burden on the national health facilities.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the hospital, Ms Maame Yaa Afriyie noted, for instance, that there are immigrants who are HIV positive but do not comply with taking their medication regularly when they are in the country.

"With the expanded facility, we will hold them at the clinic to see to it that they take their medication regularly and also check up on them for other diseases," she explained.