Editor of Newscenta Newspaper, Elvis Darko, has cast doubt on the lasting impact of the swoop by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) that led to the removal of over 2,000 foreign beggars from the streets of Accra, warning that without addressing the root causes, the situation will resurface within three months.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Monday, May 19, he questioned the sustainability of the operation, citing Ghana’s porous borders and lack of a strategic, long-term approach to border control as key failures undermining efforts to reduce the influx of undocumented foreigners.

“We talk too much instead of doing the right thing, and that is our problem. Public institutions that are paid with taxpayers’ money love to talk, but when it comes to actually doing their jobs, it becomes an issue,” he said.

His remarks come just days after the GIS conducted a large-scale swoop across locations in Accra on Friday, May 16. The operation led to the arrest of 2,241 foreign nationals, including 384 adult males, 525 adult females, 577 male children, and 755 female children, most of whom were engaged in begging and street hawking.

While the action has been praised in some quarters, Elvis Darko expressed strong concerns about the lack of a concrete follow-up plan and the failure to tackle the deeper issue of border security.

“If the Immigration Service carries these people out of the country, I give you three months they will be back. The borders are porous. Nothing strategic is being done to properly secure them,” he warned.

Darko highlighted that focusing solely on street operations without fixing Ghana’s border system is futile, stressing the need for a national conversation and urgent action on how undocumented migrants can freely enter and operate within the country.

“The issue should be focused on the state of Ghana’s borders. How do people enter this country without documentation? What do we need to do to fix our borders to ensure people enter rightfully?” he queried.

He called on the government to adopt and implement a comprehensive border management strategy that includes proper surveillance systems, increased investment in border infrastructure, and inter-agency coordination.

“Until the state sits up and adopts a border management strategy and invests in it, this cycle will continue. We will be doing the same swoops every three years because the real problem has not been fixed,” he added.

Three dead in Adentan floods after torrential rain – MCE confirms