Starting Wednesday, January 22, 2020, Ghanaian security agencies can collaborate more efficiently to protect the country’s points of entry. The Center has been set up to allow Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Sevice and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and others involved in air, land and maritime security, to properly coordinate their border security efforts. The creation of the Border Fusion Center is under the auspices of the security governance initiative, a partnership between the American and Ghanaian governments. Head of JoyNews’ Security Desk, Gifty Andoh Appiah, has been interacting with Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, who says this intervention will bridge a major gap in Ghana’s security infrastructure.

“The Centre as the name suggests brings together all the various agencies. We have about eight to nine agencies under it so BNI, research, defence intelligence, the police, the immigration and customs division of the Ghana Review Authority (GRA) are supposed to come together in a room to ensure that when something happens in any part of the border, they pick it up relay it for quick decisions to be made,” he said.

The Minister said the country doesn’t want a situation whereby the BNI picks up something that the police are supposed to do immediately and then it’s difficult to relay information.

“So that gap between getting the information and taking action will be shortened and they are expected to be working 24/7,” Mr Nitiwul said.

He is excited that the Security Fusion Center will speed up “response time and the more you get intelligence and act very fast.” 

The Defence Minister says the Centre is a good start.

“They should be able to communicate around the country by what they have; they have cameras, they have the screens that they can see and monitor, they have all the monitors, they have the gadgets that they are able to see, and do whatever is going on,” he observed.

He believes it’s also a good thing because, at the end of the day, it sends positive signals to the people of Ghana that the security agencies are on top of whatever they are doing. 

“They are even enhancing their collaboration to make sure that effectively they can wipe out any threat that comes to this country,” he said.

Assistant secretary of the United States of America’s  Bureau of International Narcotics and Law enforcement, Kirsten D Madison said they have so far committed $35 million to Ghana’s border security through training and logistics, with another $3 million on the way.