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# taz.de -- Migration policy in Ghana: Against migration with a vengeance
> Neither asylum rights nor a visa: The chances that many Ghanaians will
> make it to Europe are slim to none. The EU keeps banking on its tactic of
> deterring them and sending them back.
Bild: Repeated peaceful transitions of power make Ghana a safe country of origi…
Ghana, like Senegal, is considered a safe country of origin from Germany's
point of view, and other states in the European Union (EU) share a similar
perspective. Yet in 2015, a total of 8,858 Ghanaians still applied for
asylum worldwide.
The approval quota was just 2.5 percent. Germany, with 1,109 applications,
ranked in third place behind Italy (3.621 applications) and South Africa
(1,778), which was surprisingly the second-most common goal of asylum
seekers. In the previous year it received as many as 2,449 applications.
Ghana is among those nations whose population faces extreme difficulties in
getting a visa for the Schengen area. According to a Frontex report from
2014, 20,000 visas were issued, while 38 percent of the applications were
rejected.
EU data indicates that in 2014, more than 120,000 Ghanaians were living
legally in the EU, the majority of them in the UK, Italy and Germany. 4,660
Ghanaians without papers were apprehended. In that year, 4,285 Ghanaians
were supposedly deported. In fact, only 1,315 deportations were carried
out. The rate in 2015 was somewhat lower than the previous year's 31
percent, dropping to 29.5 percent.
Since 2005, a “Memorandum of Understanding“ exists between Ghana and Spain.
Among other points, it includes documentation of social, economic and
political co-operation and teamwork in matters of migration. Under these
terms, 5,000 Ghanaians have received residence permits in Spain. A further
memorandum between Ghana and Italy was signed in 2010. A third is in the
works with the EU. This was central topic in meetings between the
Netherlands' Foreign Minister Bert Koenders and Ghana's Foreign Minister
Hanna Tetteh and Minister of the Interior Prosper D.K. Bani. EU information
indicates a clear focus on migrant returns, which are to be carried out
promptly, and on deterrence measures.
## Neutral information
Just a few days before Koenders‘ visit, Ghana, inhabited by barely 27
million people, had adopted a national migration strategy in which the
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) was also involved. Migration
could be desirable, as long it was well-regulated, claimed the IOM manager
in Ghana, Sylvia Lopez-Ekra.
Ghana is set to receive €31 million from the 11th European Development Fund
(EDF) for the areas of provision of employment and social security. €161
million is to flow into the agricultural sector. A further €6 million is
planned for municipal projects and for supporting civil society. The aim is
to promote economic development at a local level and to create jobs.
In February 2016, the EU, IOM, the Ghanaian immigration authorities GIS and
the Regional Council of Brong Ahafo, a region in central Ghana, started
Ghana's migration management programme GIMMA. Its core is the Information
Centre for Migration MIC, which is supposed to supply “neutral
information“. €3 million was earmarked for this project from the 10th
European Development Fund.
However, Ghana is not only an exit country but also a target country for
West Africa. By United Nations estimates, in 2010 more than 1.8 million
immigrants lived in the country, making up 6.5 percent of the population.
The reason for this is Ghana's political stability, which has held for
decades. A peaceful transition of government occurred only recently, on 7
December 2016. Furthermore, until 201, the economy was judged to be stable.
At present, in any case, the inflation rate is at 15.8 percent and the
unemployment rate for young Ghanaians under 25 is about 50 percent.
The largest group of immigrants is Nigerians, constituting 20 percent. This
group is not only made up of business people: Ghanaian universities are
popular among Nigerian students. There are fewer strikes there compared to
Nigeria, and courses of studies can be completed within to their scheduled
times. Things were very different in the 1970s, however, when hundreds of
thousands of Ghanaians moved to Nigeria to work. Then in 1983, up to one
million of them were deported back again. Since the crisis in Libya, at
least another 18,000 Ghanaians have returned from the North African
country.
13 Dec 2016
## AUTOREN
Katrin Gänsler
## TAGS
migControl
## ARTIKEL ZUM THEMA
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