Accra, Sept. 17, GNA - In its bid to stem illegal migration to western countries, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), an intergovernmental migration oriented organisation, on Wednesday presented IT equipment and furniture to five ministries and government organisations to help them in their work. The items included 15 desktop computers, three laptops, 12 printers, seven UPS, one fax machine, seven photocopiers and 13 cabinets. The beneficiaries are the Ministries of the Interior, Finance and Economic Planning, Manpower, Youth and Employment, the Ghana Statistical Service and the Labour Department.

Speaking at the presentation in Accra, Mr Emmanuel Akuffo, Chief Director of the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment, expressed concern about illegal migration adding that since February this year, it had organised a lot of workshops on the issue. He said the equipment would provide the beneficiaries with the needed technical assistance to improve upon national labour migration structures and also facilitate an effective database of candidate workers to Italy.

Mr Akuffo expressed regret about the rate at which illegal immigrants died during their sojourns and trampling on their rights and appealed to the IOM to impress upon western governments to ensure that their rights were respected.

Mr. Davide Terzi, Chief of Mission of the IOM, said his organisation chose these five institutions because they were concerned with labour migration. He noted that the gesture would be replicated in Nigeria, Senegal and Libya and expressed his appreciation to the European Commission and the government of Italy for sponsoring the project. Dr Grace Bediako, Government Statistician, on behalf of the beneficiaries thanked the IOM for the gesture and its support toward government's efforts in combating illegal immigration.