(Issue, Monday, August 22, 2016)
The
new public relations officer of the Gambia Immigration Department (GID) has
promised to live up to expectations in the execution of his duties.
Cadet
Assistant Superintendent of Immigration Pa Ousman Manneh was speaking at the
immigration headquarters in Banjul on Thursday during a press briefing to get
himself acclimatised to the new working conditions with the media, as part of
his duties.
Although
the PRO post at the immigration is challenging, he noted, he would continue to
work hard to live up to expectations with the support of other officers and the
collaboration of the media and all other stakeholders.
He
lamented the fact that the increase in technology has presented the immigration
department with “a lot of new crimes” such as counterfeiting and document
theft.
He
said part of the solution to that is the reason the Department of Immigration
is working hard to introduce the new biometric card system.
“So
we want to assure the public that the GID is working very hard to ensure that
there is no malpractice in the national documents and those found wanting are
dealt with according to the law,” Cadet ASI Manneh said.
“For
the media, when you need any information regarding immigration activities, our
doors are open. My doors are always open to the media.”
Regarding
aliens, the immigration PRO said every Gambian should know that harbouring an
illegal alien is a crime under the Immigration Act, noting that aliens should
come forward to regularise their status.
The
PRO informed the general public of the existence of the Professional Standard
Unit under the Office of the Public Relations Officer of the GID.
He
said the unit can serve as a public complaint office were the general public
can come and lodge their complaint on misconduct of any immigration officer.
He
said people should make use of the unit to making their report or complaint.
Speaking
of the bilateral relationship between the GID and the Italian government, Cadet
ASI Manneh said there is a “strong relationship in terms of irregular
migration” and the GID is benefiting a lot from Italy.
He
said that last month, 20 officers left for studies on document verification and
document security. Before that, another
team also left for another mission and the GID is expecting more computers from
Italy.
