The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has inaugurated a Vehicle Maintenance Workshop in Tamale equipped with state-of-the-art technology and tools to diagnose and repair its fleet of vehicles and motorbikes. The Vehicle Maintenance Workshop, which was constructed with funding from the German Government through the German Federal Police, is also to ensure operational efficiency of the GIS and save costs. Under the Strengthening Border Security - Ghana project funded by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development in collaboration with the GIS, assistance has been offered to train mechanics and develop a standard operating procedure for the operation of Vehicle Maintenance Workshop. Mr Isaac Owusu Mensah, Deputy Comptroller-General of Immigration in-charge of Finance and Administration, who spoke on behalf of the Comptroller-General during the inauguration of the facility in Tamale on Monday, said the facility would help to mitigate the p roblem faced by the GIS in maintaining its fleet of vehicles and motorbikes deployed to remote areas in the northern parts of the country for operational activities including security operations. Over the years, the fleet of vehicles and motorbikes deployed by the GIS to the northern parts of the country for operational activities have been increasing. However, it has been argued that outsourcing the maintenance and repair activities to private garages is not helpful, hence the construction of the Vehicle Maintenance Workshop for in-house maintenance and repairs to ensure that vehicles and motorbikes do not end up abandoned at private garages just for minor repair works. Mr Mensah said the facility would also help 'To strictly adhere to maintenance schedules to ensure that the vehicles and motorbikes' availability, utilisation, and needs satisfaction are achieved most of the time.' The facility is the first to be constructed in the northern part of the country, and it is to also serve other connecting reg ions. Deputy Commissioner of Immigration, Dr Prosper Asima, Northern Regional Commander, GIS spoke about the difficulties the Commands in the northern sector faced in trying to maintain and service vehicles, saying 'Numerous vehicles and motor bikes have been grounded due to the non-availability of the requisite parts, the lack of adequate expertise, tools and the long distances to be travelled to procure relevant parts, just to mention a few.' He called for a robust operations and maintenance plan that would give the facility an everlasting lifespan. Source: Ghana News Agency
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