A total of 270 illegal migration agencies have been identified to be operating in Ghana. Their illegal operations, which often leave Ghanaian migrants stranded abroad, have been described as a national major threat.
Due to the exigency of the threat, the Ghana Association of Private Employment Agencies (GHAPEA) has urgently requested the government and the security agencies to help flush out all illegal migration agencies in the country.
This revelation comes after increasing reports of job-seeking Ghanaian migrants get stranded abroad, with many ending up in abusive situations especially in the Gulf region. Most of the victims, mainly females, are lured by unscrupulous employment agencies to work in foreign countries with promises of juicy wages.
At a press conference in Accra, Alhaji Saeed Shereef, Chairman of the association, said the operations of over 270 illegal migration agencies in the country has posed a threat to citizens who want to genuinely work outside the country.
“These illegal agencies operate with impunity, as you all know, dragging the name of this noble business into disrepute and causing a lot of harm to our dear country Ghana. We hereby plead to the government and all other concerned authorities to help us eliminate these unscrupulous illegal agencies, who are not only causing harm to Ghana’s good reputation but also pushing the genuine agencies out of business,” he said.
A press conference was called to highlight illegal activities of the unlicensed agencies in the labour industry.
Alhaji Shereef advised potential migrants to contact the Ghana Labour Department to verify the status of the agencies before dealing with them.
He said, “We are also appealing to the general public to be wary of those illegal agencies, and anybody who intends to immigrate for greener pastures must do so legally through any of the 26 members of GHAPEA for safe and comfortable migration.”
In addition, the association appealed for intensified media advocacy to sensitize citizens on safe ways of migrating to other countries for employment purposes.
“The media should help us educate the public for them to know the difference between legal and illegal migration. The legal migration which GHAPEA represents and the illegal migration represented by the illegal agents who according to our research findings are now about 270 in number,” the Chairman added.
Both the traditional and social media have been recently flooded with pictures, audios and videos of some Ghanaian migrants allegedly subjected to inhuman treatment in the Middle East.
By Adotey Mingle/adrdaily.com
