Accra, Feb. 15, GNA - Staff of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) have been assured that no one would be retrenched under the current Government's plans to empower the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

A statement Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) signed on Wednesday said job losses and other speculations raised in the media had "no foundation in the current scheme of things".

It said the decision to empower the GIS was not intended to take away any of the functions of CEPS, as contained in PNDC Law 330, but rather strengthen CEPS to undertake its functions effectively. The statement said the Ministry of Finance had initiated the procurement process to purchase two patrol boats to enhance the efficiency at the waterfront, adding that operational vehicles and other equipment were being sourced to augment the existing fleet of CEPS. "Plans are also far advanced to recommence work on the Aflao Boarder Complex to provide both residential and office accommodation for staff of CEPS", the statement said.

The statement said additional personnel would be recruited within the next few years to solve the manpower problems within the CEPS administration, adding that in the next phase of the programme, an integrated information technology system to permit inter-agency access at the borders would be maintained.