The IOM said there was a need for decentralisation and integration of the Migration Unit of Ministry into the local authority structure with the formation of an inter-departmental unit on migration.

Mr Daniel Nii Okai Tagoe, a Project Assistant at the IOM Office Ghana, who made the call on behalf of the Organisation provided a highlight on the Local MGI report, which was carried out as a pilot in Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).

He said the MGI was developed from the Migration Governance Framework, a document adopted by governments across the world on migration governance.

Mr Tagoe said the report revealed that the AMA had an open-door policy, which allowed for the invitation of all associations registered with it to general consultations on policies and laws that affected residents.

The Local MGI seeks to offer a more comprehensive picture of a country's migration governance landscape by juxtaposing a local dimension to MGI national assessment.

The Local MGI was rolled-out in three cities in the World including Accra, Ghana; Montreal, Canada and Sao Paulo, Brazil in a pilot phase of the exercise to allow the IOM to refine the local MGI framework with the idea of rolling it out in a larger number.

Madam Sylvia Lopez-Ekra, the Ghana Chief of Mission of IOM, in a speech read on her behalf by Mr Nnamdi Iwuora, Project Manager at the IOM said many people migrated into the cities because human capital were highly rewarded.

She said urbanisation was associated with negativities and positive benefits but there was the need to maximise the benefits that came with migration by having adequate communication among state agencies, the private sector and other key stakeholders.   

She said the Local MGIs when fully adopted would help local authorities to take stock of the migration initiatives they had in place and foster dialogue on migration between national governments and local authorities.

Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah, the Mayor of Accra, who launched the Local MGI said it would play a key role in the gathering of accurate data that would play a major role in the operations of the Metropolitan Assembly.

He said the document would help to get access to both the number of people moving in and out of Accra on daily bases with their profiles and facilitate better policy development to deal with the issues of migration in the Metropolis.