Mr Kwame Asuah Takyi, the Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service, has charged all eighteen Regional Commanders of the Service to embrace and implement the new policy on gender equity and equal opportunities in their respective jurisdictions.

This, he said, would help mainstream gender matters and restructure the immigration system to meet the current demand.

The Comptroller-General gave the directive in a statement read on his behalf by Mr Isaac Owusu Mensah, Deputy Comptroller-General of Immigration in charge of Finance and Administration, at the opening ceremony of a three-day Regional Commanders sensitization workshop and consultative interactions on gender mainstreaming policy, GIS code of conduct and a contingency plan for health pandemic, mass influx and counter-terrorism, at Aburi in the Eastern Region.

The three-day event, which was designed to increase the awareness level of the Regional Commanders and seek their inputs and exchange of ideas in drafting and developing new policies for the GIS, was based on current trends and internationally accepted standards.

It was organised in conjunction with the International Centre for Migration and Policy Development (ICMPD) and the European Union.

"The adoption of a new policy to mainstream gender matters was as a result of an in-depth assessment of the Service's accountability framework, which was identified as a lacuna during an analysis of the organizational structural hence, the need to restructure the system to respond to current needs," Mr Takyi said.

He urged all participating Commanders to give out their best during the period and also ensure that Officers and Men under them imbibe the new policies.

Mr Marcos Bordigñon, the Project Manager for Strengthening Border Security (SBS)-Ghana, reiterated the European Union and the ICMPD support towards the progress of the GIS and the SBS Project.

He recognized and appreciated the critical role the Ghana Immigration Service was playing in the protection of the country's borders and expressed the need for issues concerning gender management to be critically examined and addressed.

The workshop was a follow up to the first gender sensitization which was organized for the top Management Members of the GIS in co-operation with the ICMPD and The Ark Foundation Ghana as the resource institution.