Nana Brempong, who is the Krontihene of Adjena in the Akwamu Traditional Area, said “we cannot run away from the fact that Ghana has for some time now become a popular destination for all manner of human smuggling and trafficking activities in the West African sub-region”.

That, he added, was no doing any good to the country’s image.

Addressing an anti-human trafficking forum in Kumasi, he said things needed to radically change – to reverse the rising trend.  The programme was organized by the Assemblies of God Church for its Ashanti East Women’s Conference, with technical support from the police Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU).

Nana Brempong expressed discomfort with the lack of resources to tackle the menace and said the fund set up by the government for the purpose had been struggling.He indicated that “it is going to be very difficult for us to realize our vision under the present circumstance” and appealed for strong support by corporate bodies, institutions and individuals.

Many innocent and unemployed Ghanaian youth, he noted, were becoming easy targets for criminal gangs engaged in illegal activity as they sought greener pastures abroad.  The police AHTU, investigated in excess of 200 human smuggling and trafficking-related cases last year, and many of these bothered on sexual exploitation and domestic servitude.

Nana Brempong highlighted the need to focus priority on youth empowerment programmes since economic hardship was one of the main drivers of human smuggling and trafficking, globally.

A similar programme had earlier been organized for the Faith to Action Women’s Conference, an inter-denominational women’s group in Kumasi to sensitize and get the members to join the fight.