Minister-designate for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor has delineated the roles of the Ghana Immigration Service and the Ghana Boundary Commission in an attempt to dismiss the misconceptions surrounding the duties of the two public organizations.
Samuel Abu Jinapor was on Wednesday, February 24 vetted by the Appointments Committee in Parliament.
During his vetting, the Minister-designate who was a former Deputy Chief of Staff highlighted reasons why the Ghana Boundary Commission has been placed under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
The issue of the placement of the Ghana Boundary Commission under the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry became a matter of concern to the Appointments Committee and a question was raised on why it should be under such Ministry.
Some Ghanaians are of the view that the Boundary Commission shares similar functions with the Immigration Service.
Responding before the Committee, Hon. Abu Jinapor noted that there is a vast difference between the roles of the two organizations.
He explained that, "the Ghana Boundary Commission's mandate essentially is to determine, negotiate and/or delineate the boundaries as they relate to Ghana and its neighbouring countries. Where does the borders of Ghana begin; where do they end? That is essentially their work, both on land and on our seas. Now, they do so for purposes of [1] determining the landmarks of Ghana. So this is why it is under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources. [2] They do so also in the sea to determine the natural resources of our country''.
''I think that the placement of the Ghana Boundaries Commission under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources is perfect. It's absolutely normal. There's nothing wrong because they're dealing with the lands of Ghana as well as the natural resources of Ghana in the sea," he strongly held.
He expounded on how different the Ghana Immigration Service and the Boundary Commission are, hence making it right for the Commission to be under the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry.
"I don't see any conflict at all. To my mind, I respectfully think the Ghana Boundaries Commission's mandate is exclusively for purposes of determining what are the borders of Ghana whereas the Ghana Immigration Service, their mandate is border security; protecting the borders of Ghana," he said.
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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