The top brass at Ghana’s immigration service have made a desperate plea to lawmakers, begging them for support to “fully digitise” their operations across the country.
Comptroller-General Samuel Basintale Amadu threw down the gauntlet during a visit from the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior, led by Chairman James Agalga.
The VIPs were on a routine “friendly visit” to the GIS headquarters in Accra, but things quickly got serious.
Amadu, speaking directly to the suited politicians, insisted their backing was “vital” for the service to finally drag itself into the 21st century.
“Together, we are confident that this esteemed committee will assist us,” Amadu reportedly said, hinting at a future where border control is handled with the tap of a button, rather than the wave of a dusty old paper form.
The GIS prepared a special presentation just for the occasion, revealing their biggest headaches and grand plans for the future.
Agalga, the committee chairman, seemed to be on board, promising that his team needed to be kept “informed of your successes and challenges” so they could “collaborate with you and support you.”
With threats to national security growing every day, the GIS is under pressure to modernize its clunky systems. The leadership believes this new “digitisation” push is the only way to boost the service’s capacity and responsiveness.
The visit, however, wasn’t just a friendly chat. It’s a calculated move to secure the crucial political and financial support needed to make their hi-tech dreams a reality. Now, it’s up to the politicians to decide if they’ll open the public purse strings.
By Philip Antoh