Ouagadougou – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) organized on 9 February at the premises of the Ministry of Territorial Administration, Decentralization and Security (MATDS) a ceremony to officially hand over equipment and two border police posts located in the communes of Galgouli and Sangabouli to the Government of Burkina Faso.

IOM, in coordination with the Directorate of Border Police, presented to participants the two new police posts powered by solar energy and equipped with basic social infrastructure such as boreholes that will promote the well-being of cross-border communities. The Cinkansé border police post has also been rehabilitated and equipped.

“Before the construction of this borehole, we were very far from our usual drinking water supply point. Today we have easy access to water for our daily needs,” said Bernadette Kambire, a resident of the commune of Galgouli.

The police posts have also been equipped with the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS). MIDAS will facilitate migration management and strengthen border security through the collection, analysis, and storage of travellers’ biographical and biometric information in real time.

In his speech, Colonel Boukary ZOUNGRANA, Minister of the MATDS of Burkina Faso, stressed that “it is concrete achievements such as those presented here that we need”. According to him, the project has and will continue to have a great impact on building operational capacity of the border police.

His Excellency Andreas Michael Pfaffernoschke, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Burkina Faso, said: “The efforts made within this framework will certainly contribute to building capacity of the national authorities and make the fight against cross-border crime more effective.”

This activity is part of the project “Strengthening border security in Burkina Faso” implemented by IOM in collaboration with the Ministry of Territorial Administration, Decentralization and Security, with funding from the Federal Republic of Germany.

For more information, please contact: Idelki Familia, Programme Coordinator, ifamilia@iom.int; Abdoulaye Mamadou SOUKOUNA, Regional Communication Officer, asoukouna@iom.int.