GIS swoop: Street beggars will be back in three months – Elvis Darko

Elvis Darko, editor of Newscenta Newspaper, doubts the impact of a recent operation by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS). This operation removed over 2,000 foreign beggars from Accra. He warns that without addressing root causes, the issue will return in three months.

Darko spoke on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on May 19. He questioned the sustainability of the operation. He pointed to Ghana's porous borders and lack of long-term border control strategies as major failures.

“We talk too much instead of doing the right thing,” he said. Darko criticized public institutions for not fulfilling their duties despite being funded by taxpayers.

His comments followed a GIS swoop on May 16 that arrested 2,241 foreign nationals. This included 384 adult males, 525 adult females, and many children engaged in begging and hawking.

While some praised the action, Darko expressed concerns about follow-up plans. He emphasized that simply removing people won’t solve deeper issues related to border security. “If they are taken out, I give you three months; they will be back,” he warned.

Darko stressed that focusing only on street operations is ineffective. There needs to be a national conversation about undocumented migrants entering Ghana freely. “How do people enter this country without documentation?” he asked.

He urged the government to implement a comprehensive border management strategy. This should include better surveillance systems and improved infrastructure at borders.

“Until we adopt a proper strategy and invest in it, this cycle will continue,” he added. Without action, similar operations will happen every few years without solving the real problem.

In other news, three people died in Adentan floods after heavy rain, confirmed by MCE.