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The Governing Council of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) is pushing for a public-private sector initiative to help mobilise adequate resources to address the pressing needs of the service, including the welfare and working conditions of its officers.
Code-named Operation Secure Our Borders (SECOBOR), the initiative seeks to strengthen the capacity of the service and contribute more effectively to national security and development.
The Chairman of the Governing Council of the GIS, Rev. Stephen Yenusom Wengam, disclosed this at the Jubilee House in Accra, when he led a delegation of the council to brief President John Dramani Mahama on the strategic direction and emerging priorities of the GIS.
Rev. Wengam said: “Weak border control continues to expose Ghana to smuggling, human trafficking and illicit trade, which pose direct threats to national security and public safety”.
He said as part of the GIS digital transformation agenda and commitment to help build a resilient 24-hour economy, the modernisation of border control was a strategic priority.
“A functioning 24-hour economy requires secure, efficient and continuously operating borders.
“Yet, out of Ghana’s 48 approved border crossing points, only 12 are currently automated,” Rev. Wengam said.
The GIS Governing Council chairman added that “inadequate resources and logistical constraints erode government revenue, disrupt local industries and weaken legitimate commerce.”
Rev. Wengam said the GIS had already undertaken some institutional reforms to modernise border management, strengthen national security and improve service delivery.
Central to those efforts, he said, was the ongoing digital transformation of immigration operations, including the development of a Ghana-owned, integrated border management system, internally referred to as Immigration 360 System, to enhance efficiency, sovereignty and interoperability across all entry and exit points.
Rev. Wengam said the service had also prioritised enhanced data integration and intelligence-led operations through closer collaboration with national institutions and international security partners to improve real-time traveller verification, risk assessment, and enforcement effectiveness.
“Collectively, these ongoing initiatives are repositioning the Ghana Immigration Service as a modern, technology-driven institution capable of supporting secure borders, facilitating trade and travel, and aligning immigration operations with Ghana’s broader economic transformation agenda, including the 24-Hour Economy,” he said.
The Governing Council Chairman said many of the challenges of the GIS, including the lack of accommodation, vehicles and motorbikes, could be addressed if the service was allowed to retain, at least, 80 per cent of its internally generated funds (IGF) for five years, “after which the present retention could be restored”.
Rev. Wengam disclosed that in 2025 alone, the GIS generated GH¢546.04 million, with only 40 per cent amounting to GH¢218.42 million retained.
He said 25 per cent of the retained amount was earmarked for the construction of the GIS National Headquarters complex, with the remainder, equivalent to 15 per cent of the IGF, allocated to support administrative and operational activities.
Rev. Wengam said the GIS stood ready to spearhead the implementation of an electronic visa system in close collaboration with relevant ministries and agencies.
The chairman expressed gratitude to President Mahama for providing a strategic direction which had enabled the GIS to consolidate its statutory role and emerge as “a vital pillar in safeguarding Ghana’s sovereignty and advancing regional cooperation”.
In response, President Mahama said his government “stands firmly behind efforts to retool and modernise the GIS”.
“We are working hard to resolve logistical challenges and improve working conditions of immigration officers so that they can deliver on their mandate,” he added.
President Mahama commended Rev. Wengam for leaving a legacy at the Ghana Prisons Service with the transformative “Project Efiase” during his time as Board Chairman, and for currently spearheading the SECOBOR project at the Immigration Service.
The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, said it was critical to improve the welfare and accommodation needs of immigration officers, particularly those serving in remote and high-risk locations.
He announced that seven new regional immigration offices were being constructed nationwide to bring services closer to the citizens and tighten border management.
