Eastern Regional Minister Hon. Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey is advocating for the integration of digital tools to track migrant movements and modernise Ghana’s migration management system.
Speaking at the University of Ghana during the 20th anniversary of the Centre for Migration Studies (CMS), she emphasised that leveraging technology is essential for enhancing data collection, real-time monitoring, and proactive policy planning in response to evolving global trends.
The minister urged the CMS to take a proactive lead in refining the national migration policy framework, stressing the need for research-driven solutions that reflect current local and international dynamics.
She argued that there was the need for shaping migration aspirations using digital and monitoring tools.
“Second, the explicit recognition of internal migration as a policy priority. The movement of people within Ghana is significant in skill, and the evidence from the 2021 Population and Housing Census underscores that more than half of Ghanaians now live outside their region of birth, yet internal migration receives far less policy attention than international flows.”
Supporting this call, the Controller General of the Ghana Immigration Service, Samuel Basibtale, proposed a strategic collaboration between the service and the centre to develop practical policies that address the immediate challenges of border and migration management.
“There remains an information gap that is generated in academic and research spaces and what is readily accessible to practitioners on the ground. The frontline immigration border crossing did not have time to read a forty-page research report. But that officer needs a clear, evidence-based understanding of profiles of migrants they are encountering and the routes being used, the vulnerabilities at play and the legal frameworks that govern decisions.”
By: Rashid Obodai Provencal/Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
