The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has begun training 50 Liberians in a four-month intensive migration programme, to facilitate their enlistment into the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (BIN) of Liberia.
The trainees, comprising 40 males and 10 females, forming the second batch of Liberian intake, were inducted into the GIS Academy and Training School (GISATS) at Assin-Fosu in the Central Region on Wednesday, to undergo the programme, which is a partnership among the GIS, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)/Repatriation and Departure Service (RDS) of the Netherlands, BIN and the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
Under the partnership, GIS will provide the training services, while the Government of the Netherlands provides sponsorship for the programme within two years.
The objective of the programme is to strengthen the institutional capacity and competence of BIN of Liberia to effectively manage issues of migration as well as establish a functioning training system to support its human resource development.
The first intake, which was also 50 Liberians, passed-out at the GISATS earlier this year and had been absorbed into the BIN.
Mr Eric Afari, Assistant Director of Immigration and Project Manager of the GIS, who addressed the induction ceremony, said Ghana was committed to assisting Liberia to rediscover her past glories after years of instability.
Mr Afari noted that "a secure environment is a necessary condition for the promotion of the economic welfare of any country", adding, this was the reason for the training to put the BIN in a position to contribute effectively to the design and sustenance of security, peace and safety in Liberia.
"The flow of investment and foreign capital will remain an illusion or a mirage if the BIN fails to effectively manage migration and provide border security in Liberia," he stressed.
He said the curriculum of the programme had been designed to satisfy the peculiar national security and professional needs of Liberia, giving
that she (Liberia) suffered a long unrest, which destroyed her migration infrastructure.
He however, said "we do not therefore, promise you ready-made answers to the challenges you might confront on your return to Liberia", instead you should see the training as an opportunity to better prepare you for future
responsibilities.
Mr Afari urged them to remain disciplined and abide by the Joining Instructions and the code of conduct of the training school.
The Commanding Officer of the GISATS and Deputy Superintendent of Immigration, Mr Frederick Doudu read the Joining Instructions and the code of conduct to the trainees and urged them to strictly respect the instructions of the training officers to ensure success.
Colonel Moses Yelbeh, Focal Person of the BIN expressed gratitude to the GIS and the Government of the Netherlands for the partnership, which he said, was building men and women for adequate service delivery.
"Your gesture is helping us to regain our lost integrity from the pre-war era," he said.
He urged the trainees to "humble yourselves and cooperate with the trainers and instructors, burying your emotions and allow the training to go
through you, so that you are trained even better than your colleagues of the first batch".
Mr Bert de Wilde, Second Secretary of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Ghana, urged the trainees to persevere and pass through the training because they had a responsibility to their country, adding, "you are the future of
Liberia's migration institution".