Ghanaian still in IDC

TWO WEEKS after the Prime Minister said consideration will be given to grant amnesty to the sole Ghanaian at the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC), Aripo, he remains unregistered – and still faces deportation.

The 36-year-old has been in custody since October 2017, after he was arrested and charged with entering the country illegally and ordered to be deported. Speaking at a joint media conference, during the visit of Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo at the Diplomatic Centre, Port of Spain on June 13, Dr Rowley said Africans at the IDC will be allowed to register once there are no criminal matters related to them. At the time TT was registering Venezuelans for an amnesty which allowed the migrants to live and work for up to a year. Registration for Venezuelans at the IDC were restricted to those there for immigration issues, however, they too have not been registered, neither has any other detainee held for entering the country illegally or over staying their time.

Sunday Newsday spoke with Marilyn Hackett-Waldron, a friend of the Ghanaian, who said since the announcement was made no one contacted him. She queried why this was so and how long does the process take given that the 16,000 plus Venezuelans were registered during the two-week exercise. She said all the necessary documents for Ghanaian is in the hands of immigration officers.

"How long will it take them to find out if he have any criminal background? They have all the paperwork and he have no criminal record so they should release him. He was in the country for 11 years before he was arrested, working and contributing to the country. When the President of Ghana was coming Rowley spoke about him and up to now nothing happened," she said.

Rowley had said the issue of Ghanaians at the IDC was discussed in his meeting with Akufo-Addo and it was determined that there was only one at the centre. He said with the presence of the president, the Ghanaian detainee will be afforded the opportunity to register once there are no criminal labels attached to him. He added, if successful, the Ghanaian will be put out into the population.

"There are people thinking that he may be out but he is still there, he is still in IDC," said Hackett-Waldron.

National Security Minister Stuart Young had told Parliament that he will have to take a note to the National Security Council to implement the initiative to apply the amnesty to detainees. Rowley had said once the paperwork is done, the Ghanaian could be registering him.

Young did not respond to WhatsApp messages or phone calls yesterday for an update on the registration process for IDC detainees.

Since the announcement of the Venezuelan registration was made in May, leader of the Emancipation Support Committee Khafra Kambon called for the same courtesy for Africans languishing at the IDC for an inordinate amount of time.

At the media conference, Rowley also reported that there were a few Nigerians at the IDC who were there for quite some time. He explained there were many issues with the logistics of the deportation which was extremely expensive and difficult to obtain even when there is money available.

Akufo-Addo visit was the third one of a president from Ghana to TT. He and Rowley discussed energy, agriculture, education, culture, diplomacy and current issues regional and international. He said there were also discussions on Venezuela and extending the life of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP).

Akufo-Addo said the events in Venezuelan affected the Caribbean member of the tripartite ACP and there needed to be a positive resolution to the problem.

"It is our moral duty to do so."