These include management and administration, crime management - maintenance of law, order and crime prevention by the Ghana Police Service. Others are custody of inmates and correctional service by the Ghana Prison Service, and border security and refugee management: Border security and migration service by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

The rest are conflict and disaster management: Small Arms and Light Weapons Management by the National Commission on Small Arms Commission. Mr Henry Quartey, the Deputy Minister of the Interior, said the government with its aim to ensure good governance was also focusing on three principal objectives of the sector.

Firstly, it is to strengthen legislative framework of the sector agencies and ensuring efficient and effective service delivery. Secondly, it is to strengthen the GIS to deliver on its mandate to manage migration for national development and to ensure total border security and curb the activities of smugglers and traffickers along the borders.

And thirdly, it is to maintain law, order, security and prevent crime; also to improve intelligence gathering, investigations and narcotic management. Mr Quartey made these revelations known on Thursday in Accra at the Ministry of the Interior's 2016 Annual Performance Review Workshop.

The workshop on the theme "Promoting growth and development through protection of human safety and security of its citizenry", was attended by all the 10 agencies under the Ministry.  They included the Ghana Police Service, the GIS, the Ghana Prison Service, the Ghana National Fire Service, the National Peace Council and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).

The rest are the National Commission on Small Arms, the Narcotics Control Board, the Gaming Commission and the Ghana Refugee Board.  The workshop afforded participants the opportunity for stock taking, to look at their achievements and their challenges during the past year, 2016 and to strategies to improve the sector's performance in 2017 for the delivery of their work plans.

 "For us to be able to effectively execute the government's priority projects and that of the Ministry, there is the need for us to apply innovative and results-driven approach to our work and activities," Mr Quartey stated. "This is what we should seek to achieve from the review meeting. We must not only look at what we should do, but the way we do it and when we should do it in innovative ways. To meet delivery deadlines are very crucial in the execution of our works. "

He urged the participants to take the most effective, which according to him, calls for teamwork.  "As you are aware, Ghana was placed on Tier Two watch list of the US State Department's Report on Trafficking-in-Persons (TIP) for 2016.  "This has grave consequences for Ghana, if we do not improve on our rankings in subsequent years," the Deputy Minister added.

Mr Quartey said: "We accordingly implore our agencies under the Ministry, especially, the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Immigration Service to ensure up to date data on offences, arrests, and prosecutions are properly kept."That we expect enhanced collaboration with relevant government and non-governmental agencies to bring the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to book."

 He said government recognises that the sector agencies/officers require more training and improved logistical support; stating that "we are however, grateful that they would continue to exhibit heightened patriotism on the work to achieve targets". Mrs Adelaide Anno-Kumi, the Chief Director, Ministry of the Interior, said the Annual Review Meeting also offered them the opportunity to review their planned programmes, projects and activities for this year, establish linkages among the programmes and projects where necessary.

She said it was also to develop strategies for the implementation of their priority projects and programmes planned for the current year 2017.