Migration Unit to be established within the Ministry of Interior

Koforidua, Dec 19, GNA- Papa Owusu Ankomah, the Minister of the Interior, has said the country was considering entering into bilateral agreements that would allow professionals in the country to work abroad over a period and come back to serve the country.

The government, he said, was also planning to establish a Migration Unit within the Ministry of the Interior with the broad mandate of ensuring that the national development agenda took account of migration and provides an avenue for orderly migration of Ghanaians to any country of their choice.

Papa Owusu Ankomah said this when he represented President John Agyekum Kufuor at the ''Akwantukese'' durbar of the chiefs and citizens of New Juaben Traditional Area at Koforidua on Sunday.

As part of the celebrations, the minister inaugurated a 26- member New Juaben Development Board under the chairmanship of the Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area, Daasebre Prof Emeritus Oti Boateng. Membership of the board included Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing and Member of Parliament, for New Juaben North, Mr Yaw Barimah, Eastern Regional Minister and MP for New Juaben South.

The New Juaben Development Fund that will offer scholarships to brilliant but needy children in the New Juaben Traditional Area and provide financial support for development of private industries in the area was launched.

Mr Owusu-Ankomah said the government had no intention to restrict travelling but would wish to ensure that any Ghanaian who travelled outside the country was treated with the necessary dignity. He appealed to Ghanaians to accept visitors to the country, especially refugees, and not to allow the negative behaviour of few of them to infuriate them.

''The government will ensure that refugees who breaks the laws of the country face the consequences of their actions.''

Papa Owusu Ankomah assured residents of the Koforidua municipality that before the next national elections the water problem facing the municipality would be solved.

He said though the government had assured that it would not interfere in chieftaincy issues, it would not sit down unconcern when the activities of some chiefs threatened national security. The minister expressed the hope that the chieftaincy institution would take measures to ensure that the activities of its members would not affect the security of the country as well as the national development agenda.

Daasebre Prof Oti Boateng explained that the aim of the festival was to foster unity among the people and to enable them to contribute towards the development of the traditional area. He thanked businessmen and women who had contributed towards the economic development of the traditional area and appealed to the government to help solve the water problem facing the Koforidua Municipality.