A summit on African migration has recommended the appointment of Labour attaches as well as the establishment and implementation of stiffer penal measures to deal with private recruitment agents and other intermediaries that engage in illegal migration activities.
The summit was organised by the Journalists International Forum For Migration (JIFORM) in partnership with the Nekotech Center of Excellence, Ghana which had in attendance, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, Professor Patrick Lumumba from Kenya, Hon Tolulope Akande-Sadipe of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Professor Byron Price from America, former Canada’s minister of Immigration, Hon Gerry Weiner, Ambassadors and other scholars across the globe.
The summit also recommended that African States make use of the opportunity provided by Canada to ensure that in 2021, about 401,000 Africans migrate to the country and work out modalities to also ensure that 411,000 and 421,000 migrants move to the north American nation in 2022 and 2023 respectively, through regular means as provided for in the nation’s immigration chart.
In order to achieve the feat, participants recommended establishment of Labour Market Information Systems to enhance the process, reintegration mechanisms for migrants, enhancement of ministries dealing with migration, capacitate African missions abroad to handle migration issues.
The summit also commended the migration framework instituted by Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, Nigeria, that led to the creation of the first state owned Migration Control Services Agency, the first in the entire sub-Saharan African as a template for other African nations.
In a statement made available to journalists by President JIFORM Ajibola Abayomi, the summit welcomed the call on the media to use effective mass communication channels to promote international migration.
Ajibola said the summit ratified the 10 keys to the African Labour Migration Paradigm shift in the Middle East – from Deadly to Decent Work, ranging from policy restructuring to give room for financial support, job creation, push for Africa multilateral agreement with other continents on labour migration and others.
Mr Abayomi stated that the development can only be achieved through gathering, analyzing and processing of information in strict compliance with the journalistic principles, in order to give human face and voice especially to the migrants as championed by the IOM Nigeria and adopted by the stakeholders.
He stressed the need for more countries in Africa to key into the Assisted Voluntary Return And Reintegration ofthe IOM in Nigeria, Gambia and Ghana, by studying the impacts of the programs for strategies to be adopted to the benefits of migrants that are Africans.
One of the speakers and chairman on the ooccassion, Minister of Labour and Social Security, Sierra Leone, Alpha Timbo, said that: “African countries must ensure that they put in place a legal and regulatory framework to facilitate regular migration and discourage irregular migration.
This, he further argued:”May include ratification and implementation of core International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions on migration, formation of National Labour Migration policies and ensure their implementations.
the theme of the summit is Labour Migration: Shifting The Paradigm To Benefit Africa held between February 25-26 in Accra, Ghana
pub-5160901092443552
Related Posts
