Mr. Woyongo made these remarks at the 63rd Celebration of the International Customs Day which was held in Accra under the theme “Coordinated Border Management – an inclusive approach for connecting stakeholders”.
He lauded the Director of Immigration COP/Dr. Peter A. Wiredu, and the Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Wallace Akondo, for the Joint Technical Committee formed by the two agencies (GIS & GRA) to identify areas of cooperation, collaboration and coordination at the borders for operational effectiveness. He said with such collaboration, resources would be pooled together to maximize operational effectiveness.
He reiterated that although efforts are being made to resource the Border Patrol Unit of the GIS, with the current collaboration amongst two agencies, Customs should assist the Border Patrol Personnel when the need arose.
The Interior Minister prayed other institutions to emulate the collaboration between GIS and GRA for effective management of the various entry and exit points.
He thanked all the International Organizations especially ECOWAS, and the European Union for assisting in the setting up of the Neope Joint Border Project between Ghana and Togo, and congratulated the GRA and all stakeholders who made the World Customs Day celebration possible.
In a speech read on behalf of the Secretary General of World Customs Organization, (WCO) Kunio Mikuriya, he stressed that border agencies should work together for the common good despite varying regulatory mandates.
He further stated that it was about time border agencies started applying coordinated border management approach due to the numerous benefits which could accrue for the economy of a nation. Such benefits he mentioned as improved investment climate, an enhanced trading environment and increased economic growth.
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