‘We’ve registered over 1,000 Burkinabe immigrants so far’ – Ghana Refugee Board

The Ghana Refugee Board has disclosed that it has registered over 1000 immigrants from Burkina Faso.

According to the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Refugee Board, Tetteh Padi, his outfit was conscious of the recent influx of Burkinabes into the Savannah region and took steps to ensure that lives and properties close to the community are protected.

“We registered over 1,000 Burkinabes who have actually gone through the right process but we also know that there are several more that are coming in, given that the situation is not getting any better. We do not compromise the procedures at all and to make sure that whatever needs to be done to maintain our own safety and that of the refugees, is done,” he said.

This move follows concerns raised by members of the Fufulso community in the Savannah region about the invasion of the community by some 500 people, who now live as residents in the community.

Mr Padi speaking on the concerns of members of the Fufulso community explained that although the refugee board was aware of the presence of about 500 Bukinabes in the community, they have not registered them yet.

However, he assured me that his outfit had people on the field to begin the registration.

“Our staff are in the field registering people who have been cleared for us to register,” he said.

The influx of Burkinabes in the region is attributed to violent activities in their country.

When asked about safety, he said during registration his outfit usually collaborated with the police to ensure maximum security.

“We are working very closely with the security. We do not go into the field without protection as I said, we don’t take anything for granted at all so we make sure that before we deal with any group … they are cleared.

“In fact, we do not do any registration unless we have security clearance. When we are registering, our people are trained to look for certain signals. If there is any doubt or suspicion we pass people on to the security services,” he added.