Therefore, border management should be one of the top most priority for any serious government as for all nefarious acts within or outside a country, first target is the border whenever their operations fails.
Recently, H.E. Tatsuo Arai, Ambassador of Japan to The Gambia, paid a visit to the Gambia Immigration Department (GID)’s headquarters, where he handed over a set of equipment to reinforce the country’s border management efforts.
The donated equipment included items to strengthen document security, a Migration Information Data and Analysis System (MIDAS) mobile kit, and a brand-new Toyota Land Cruiser to support border patrol.
For many years, the department has been grappling with a weak border management system.
So this support would now help reinforce service delivery, thus curtailing awful menace occurring along the country’s borders.
It is worth stating that since 2018, the Government of Japan has been assisting The Gambia by providing critical financial support in the area of border management through a series of projects.
We, therefore, want to commend the government of Japan through Ambassador Tatsuo Arai for this ‘laudable and timely gesture.’ This gesture could not have come at a better time, when The Gambia like most countries in the region, are faced with numerous threats along their borders.
However, what makes this generosity worthwhile is the fact that The Gambia will soon head to the polls to elect a new president.
In view of the country’s porous borders, there is a need to strengthen security and border surveillance. Many criminal networks target borders in the event their in-country operations fail, to find easy escape routes.
Now, with MIDAS installed at the GID Headquarters and in four border posts, the system allows the Government of The Gambia to have real-time information on movement across these four checkpoints, better facilitate cross-border movement and understand mobility patterns, which form the basis for planning migration-related policy. This is indeed great and something long overdue.
This new technology will prepare GID officials to be on top of issues, especially in keeping an eye on organising criminal syndicate along the country’s porous borders.
What is even worth celebrating is the fact that The Gambia is one of over 20 countries worldwide that has operationalised the use of MIDAS.
Once again, we thank H.E. Tatsuo Arai, Ambassador of Japan to the Gambia for this magnanimity.
To The Gambia Immigration Department, always remember that dedication is not what others expect of you, but it is what you can give to others.
Let’s make The Gambia great and a bastion of peace.
“ Government has really been growing, a lot of largesse, but the people in the real world aren’t. And that’s what has to change. Government has no conformity at all with the real world.”
Michele Bachmann