Paga Customs Commander Dugbley raises alarm over dire staff accommodation crisis
The Customs Commander says inadequate and outdated accommodation is affecting operations and officer safety at the busy Paga border post.
The Divisional Commander and Chief Revenue Officer at the Paga Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Martin Dugbley, has raised concerns over the poor state of accommodation, describing the situation as a major challenge affecting operations and officer safety.
Speaking in a media interview on April 22, Dugbley said the division continues to rely on outdated structures inherited from former border guards, which have not seen any significant improvement over the years.
“Unfortunately, since we inherited these structures, both the office and residential structures, the facilities have not seen any major facelift.” He stated.
He explained that the division has only six blocks accommodating 12 officers, while the total number of officers stands at about 24. As a result, several other officers live in rented apartments within the town, a situation he said disrupts coordination, particularly during emergencies.
“So it means the rest of those officers are in rented apartments in town. And this affects operations so much because when you need officers in times of emergency, organizing them becomes a problem.” He added.
Dugbley emphasized that Paga remains a very busy border post, with increasing traffic involving transit, export, and re-export trucks. According to him, officers often work late into the night under the government’s 24-hour economy initiative, yet must commute under unsafe conditions due to the lack of proper accommodation.
“Officers will have to work very late, close late, and will have to find their means home. It endangers the lives of the officers themselves.” He noted.
He revealed that the accommodation challenge is so severe that even he, as the chief revenue officer, lives under the same conditions as his subordinates in extremely small spaces.
“Even me, as the officer in charge, is living with the officers in the barracks, in a hall and chamber apartment. In fact, we can’t call them rooms. We are just perching because they are so tiny,” he said.
Dugbley appealed to management and government to urgently intervene by providing modern residential accommodation to enable officers to rest adequately and return to work refreshed.
“We are appealing to government and management to come and put up residential accommodations so that officers can rest well and come back to work the following day well-refreshed.” He said.
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