[ 2017-04-27 ]

Mr. Prosper D Bani launched the National Migration Policy on April 6, 2016

National Migration Policy not implemented one year after launch - ACILA
The National Migration Policy (NMP) of Ghana which
was launched by government in April 2016 with
pledges to ensure its implementation, has not been
implemented, laments research and education think
tank, Africa Center for International Law and
Accountability (ACILA).

ACILA’s executive director, Mr. William Nyarko
told Graphic Online in an interview that ACILA’s
monitoring of the implementation of the NMP has
shown that the Ghana National Commission on
Migration (GNCM), a body that is crucial for the
implementation of the NMP, has also not been
established.

It is recalled that the former Minister of the
Interior, Mr. Prosper Douglas Bani launched the
NMP on April 6, 2016 and pledged government’s
commitment and readiness to ensure its effective
implementation.

The NMP is aimed at providing a comprehensive
framework to manage migration for Ghana’s
sustainable development.

The Ministry of the Interior in collaboration with
the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee on
Migration (IMSCM) and Ghana’s development
partners organized the launching of the NMP.
Funding was provided by the Ministry of Finance,
International Organisation for Migration (IOM),
German International Development Co-operation
(GIZ), and the European Union (EU).

Continuing, Mr. Nyarko said that the
implementation of the policy is very important as
it does not only provide a policy framework, but
also how to address migration issues, including
irregular migration, internal migration, labour
migration, and the return, re-admission, and
reintegration of emigrant Ghanaians for
sustainable development.

He, therefore, urged the new administration of
Nana Akufo-Addo to prioritise the implementation
of the NMP on its “to-do list” as it crosses
its 100 days in office mark.

Indeed, the importance of the policy was also
emphasized by the framers of the policy as they
noted that the “NMP is the first attempt by the
Government of Ghana to formulate a comprehensive
response to migration challenges”, adding that
the “non-existence of a national strategic
framework on migration and limited migration data
has contributed to the ineffective management of
migration in Ghana.”

In addition, the policy seeks “to close the gap
between strategy and implementation to maximise
the gains and minimise the costs associated with
migration.”

In order to effectively manage migration for
development, Ghana set up an Inter-Ministerial
Steering Committee on Migration (IMSCM), which
formulated the NMP. According to the NMP document,
“the IMSCM, led by the Ministry of Interior,
will promote the implementation of the NMP. The
policy also envisaged the establishment of the
Ghana National Commission on Migration (GNCM) to
enhance its implementation.”

Graphic Online found that the lack of
establishment of the GNCM is hampering the
effective and co-ordinated implementation of the
NMP especially as the mandate of the IMSCM that
spearheaded the launch of the policy ended just
after the launch and no new committee was set up
by the Ministry of the Interior.

Establishing the Commission requires having due
regard to the provision of logistics, where to
situate the Commission, timeframe for recruiting
staff and providing funds for payment of salaries,
undertaking consultations with the various
organizations that were identified as partners in
the implementation of the NMP, and establishing a
work plan for the implementation of the NMP.

The NMP assigned roles and responsibilities to key
institutions and stakeholders for the
implementation of the NMP. For example, the media
are to “Disseminate migration-related
information to potential and return migrants; -
Report and feature special articles/programmes on
migration-related activities, e.g., human
smuggling/trafficking, refugee situation, etc.;
and - Sensitize the general public on the costs
and benefits associated with migration.”

A stakeholder with knowledge of the NMP and why
the policy has not been implemented explained that
because 2016 was an election year, the focus of
the government was basically on the elections than
implementing the policy, adding that the
commission was not constituted before the previous
administration lost power.

“The timing of the launch of the policy could
have played a role. Perhaps if the policy had been
launched a year before, it could have been
implemented”, the source noted.

Asked whether it was disappointing that a year
after the launch of this critical national policy
it still lies on the shelves and probably
gathering dust, the source stated “it is a
matter of goodwill on the part of stakeholders
especially government. The policy was launched and
government has to show enormous commitment towards
the implementation of the policy.”

The sector ministry responsible for the
implementation of the NMP is the Ministry of the
Interior. A source at the ministry explained that
the new administration might need some time to
settle down, study the NMP, and provide policy
directives for the implementation of the NMP.

Sharing a stakeholder and donor perspective, a
source at the International Organization for
Migration (IOM), a major stakeholder, noted that
“there is nothing concrete on the ground” on
the part of government regarding the
implementation of the NMP.

“We [IOM] are implementing bit and pieces of it,
but not the policy. We are inter-governmental and
we can only push to an extent like the setup of
the migration commission. We provide the
leadership role and we provide the guidance,
training, (etc) but the real establishment (of the
policy) should come from the government of Ghana.
Ideally we would have loved to see the policy
initiatives being implemented, but nonetheless, it
has to do with the higher level”, the source
added.

To effectively manage migration inflows in the
country, the source added that IOM has set up a
migration data sharing platform which will enable
migration data to be put under one common platform
and enable users to have access to the data,
adding that “it’s not full stream
implementation of the policy.”

In addition to the lack of full implementation of
the policy, certain issues, including information
gap has been identified. This pertains to the
failure of some key migration stakeholders sharing
their data and this could result in hampering the
effectiveness of the migration policy in the
country.

“Currently, even though the policy is there,
there is still that gap. We have indicated the
need for development and reliable data on
migration but there are still gaps. The various
agencies producing migration data – some produce
the data and then do not even share with relevant
agencies. They keep it for their administrative
activities”, the source stated.

Meanwhile as the implementation of the NMP delays,
migration, especially irregular migration is on
the rise with thousands facing peril and death.

The perils that migrants who use irregular routes
(by road through Niamey, Sahara Desert, Libya,
Mediterranean Sea) to travel to Italy or attempt
to travel to Italy face, are well recounted by
other survivors, with the death toll increasing
exponentially over the years, according to data
from the Mission Migrants Project and the Global
Migration Data Analyses Centre.

According to the data, 5,267 deaths were recorded
in 2014, rising to 5,740 deaths in 2015, and 7,259
deaths in 2016 with deaths from the Mediterranean
routes (Eastern, Central and Western) accounting
for about 60% of the recorded deaths.

Italy and other members of the European Union have
been observing the rising trend of irregular
migration with alarm and have been taking a number
of steps to address the issue. However, a
revealing fact is that unless economic conditions
in African countries improve, irregular migration
may become regular migration for some.

Source - Graphic Online.com

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