REGSEC CHAIR CALLS FOR PROFESSIONALISM AMONG SECURITY OFFICERS
The Chairman of the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC), Hon. Stephen Yakubu, has charged all security agencies at the eastern borders of the region to continue to act professionally and work to generate revenue for the country.
He said the current security situation in neighboring country, Burkina Faso, coupled with the several porous unapproved routes required commitment and love for the country to work and protect lives and properties of citizens.
“I am solidly behind you to work and protect our borders, but ensure that your actions are within the laws of the country,” the Chair, who is the Regional Minister, he said.
Hon. Yakubu said this during an unannounced visit to the Kulungugu and Pulmakom borders to familiarize himself with the conditions of security personnel and processes of revenue generation for the State.
The REGSEC Chair said information available to him indicated that some transit goods meant to exist the borders were rather off-loaded into private warehouses at Pulmakom, and later sold in the Ghanaian market without payment of taxes.
He observed that there were several private warehouses at the Pulmakom border, and questioned the sort of goods stored in them, and urged personnel of the Custom Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to up their game and ensure that persons involved in such unpatriotic activities were brought to book.
He said due to activities of the private warehouses, the country lost revenue in the Eastern Corridor, and stressed the need for the custom officials to up their game.
The REGSEC Chair further admonished the security officers to stop the necessary rivalry among them, and share information in order to wade off any potential threat of violent extremists to infiltrate the country.
He also acknowledged the difficult conditions under which the officers worked, considering the porous nature of Ghana’s borders, and gave the assurance that REGSEC was working assiduously with the National Security Ministry to provide the relevant equipment to facilitate their work.
The Custom Division of the GRA assured the Regional Minister that within a week, he would be furnished with all the information on the warehouses and also promised to work to reduce loses in revenue mobilization.
The officers who interacted with the Regional Minister were from the Ghana Immigration Service, Custom Division of the GRA, the National Investigation Bureau (NIB), the Ghana Armed Forces, and the Food and Drugs Authority.
