The Eastern Regional Minister, Hon. Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, has reaffirmed government’s commitment to strengthening the link between migration research, policy development and practical implementation.
Delivering the special guest address at the opening of the 2nd CMS@20 International Conference organised by the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana, Hon. Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey emphasised the need for migration governance to be guided by credible research and grounded in real-world realities.
The Eastern Regional Minister conveyed greetings from John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, while welcoming international scholars, policymakers and practitioners attending the conference.
Reflecting on her experience as both a policymaker and a doctoral researcher at the Centre, Hon. Awatey underscored the practical challenges involved in connecting academic knowledge with government decision-making.
“From my position as both a policymaker and a doctoral researcher, I have come to appreciate in a very practical way the importance and indeed the difficulty of bridging the gap between migration research, policy and practice,” Hon. Awatey remarked.
According to Hon. Awatey, migration remains a lived reality shaping communities and livelihoods across Ghana. The Eastern Regional Minister pointed out that the Eastern Region itself reflects the complexities of migration dynamics.
“We are a sending region, a transit point and increasingly a place of return,” Hon. Awatey indicated, referencing the movement of young people to urban centres and international destinations in search of opportunity.
Hon. Awatey observed that migration intersects with several development concerns, including employment, urbanisation, environmental pressures and social protection.
For this reason, the Eastern Regional Minister maintained that policy responses must be deliberate, coordinated and grounded in evidence.
“Our task as policymakers is not to romanticise migration and not to resist it blindly, but to manage it deliberately,” Hon. Awatey emphasised.
The Eastern Regional Minister also raised concern about the risks faced by young migrants who often make life-changing decisions based on incomplete or misleading information.
“Too many young people are making life-changing decisions based on incomplete or misleading information,” Hon. Awatey cautioned, pointing to the growing influence of informal migration networks operating outside clear systems of accountability.
Addressing the policy dimension, Hon. Awatey highlighted the difficulty governments sometimes face in translating research findings into concrete policy actions.
“From a governance perspective, one of the key challenges we face is translating research into actionable policy,” Hon. Awatey observed, adding that weak connections between research findings and implementation can limit the effectiveness of policy responses.
Hon. Awatey pointed to the ongoing review of Ghana’s National Migration Policy as an opportunity to reassess migration dynamics and integrate emerging realities such as digital information flows, evolving labour markets and new vulnerabilities.
Reaffirming government’s openness to collaboration, Hon. Awatey assured participants that policymakers remain ready to engage with insights emerging from academic research.
“In this regard, the government is committed to strengthening these linkages through dialogue and through more deliberate efforts to ensure that evidence informs decision-making,” Hon. Awatey affirmed.
Hon. Awatey also commended the Centre for Migration Studies for its sustained contribution to migration research and policy dialogue in Ghana and across Africa.
The Eastern Regional Minister expressed confidence that the conference would generate practical insights capable of strengthening migration governance and improving outcomes for migrants and communities.
The 2nd CMS@20 International Conference, held under the theme “Bridging the Gap? Rethinking Engagement between Migration Research, Policies and Practices,” forms part of activities marking the twentieth anniversary of the Centre for Migration Studies.
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