Kofi Ampeah Woode
A three-day Meeting of Heads of Boundary Commissions of West African countries, to draw up modalities for the establishment of a moderation mechanism between national and regional actors for a better articulate implementation of Border Governance strategies, and managing international boundaries, has commenced in Accra, Ghana.
The meeting, which is first of its kind and hosted through the Ghana Boundary Commission (GhBC), kicked off on Tuesday 9 May 2024, at the Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra, with the Chief Guest being Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister – Mrs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, supported by the Commissioner General, GhBC – Major General (Maj Gen) Emmanuel Wekem Kotia.
Boundary Commissions represented at the Meeting are from Benin, Burkina Faso, la Cotê d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and the Federal Republic of Germany, which is represented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) as a Financial and Technical Partner.
The Guest of Honour made a call for all, not to view African regional integration merely as a strategic objective, but as a shared vision for a future characterized by peace, prosperity and unity.
She stated that upholding inherited boundaries is not just an imperative under international law, but an essential part of preserving the territorial integrity of states, as the African Union (AU) has embraced these principles to ensure stability and focus on broader goals of unity and development.
She said the forum is expected to explore ways to create synergies that would promote trade, cultural exchanges and cooperation, and facilitate the forging of partnerships crucial for shaping the future of boundary infrastructure management in West Africa, by maintaining and reaffirming shared boundaries, to lay the ground work for a united Africa, where cooperation transcends historical divisions.
She furthered asserted that effective boundary management is not merely a necessity but the backbone of collective security and prosperity, and key to ensuring regional security, combatting cross-border crimes such as smuggling, human trafficking, and terrorism, and fostering economic growth through initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The Minister said West African unity also provides opportunities for dialogue and coordination, enabling collaboration on issues related to infrastructure, security and trade, with initiatives such as Joint Border Patrols, West African Integrated Maritime Strategy, West African Power Pool, African Union Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation (the Niamey Convention) underscoring the commitment to addressing common security challenges, collectively.
The Foreign Minister further opined that streamlining Customs procedures, improving infrastructure, harmonizing policies, implementing joint projects, and building resilient institutions, are all essentials steps towards regional and continental unity.
She hinted in conclusion that, in furtherance of Ghana equipping its Boundary Commission, the Parliament is considering a new ACT that would enhance the capacity of the Commission to meet international best practices, adding that insufficient infrastructure, limited resources, and fragmented coordination among national boundary management actors, continue to impede effective boundary management.
Maj Gen EW Kotia, listed a few inroads of the GhBC, in recent times which include the reaffirmation of over 250 kilometers (km) between Ghana and Togo; commencement of construction of new pillars; cross-border sensitization exercises since 2021; 150 km of boundaries with Cote d’Ivoire; joint reaffirmation, cross-border activities and sensitization.
GhBC has also established a mix-technical committee with Cote d’Ivoire to address land and maritime boundary issues; held series of technical meetings with Burkina Faso to address the anticipated common land boundary activities; held deliberations with Nigeria on mutual maritime boundary, and extended continental shelf of both countries, which interlock.
He listed some of the specific areas to be discussed at the conference as Geopolitics of Borders: the Challenges and Opportunities for West Africa; Mechanisms for Setting up Boundary Commissions; frameworks for national boundary commissions; institutional framework for cross-border cooperation and decentralization in West Africa.
On behalf of His Excellency (HE) Bankole Adeoye – Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, African Union (AU), who was represented by Ambassador Mokhtar Osman Karie, said the AU Border Programme assigns a prominent role to the Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
He recalled efforts to operationalize principles of subsidiarity and complementarity, made through the organization of coordination meetings between the AU Border Programme (AUBP) and the RECs/Regional Mechanisms, whose first Coordination Meeting was held in collaboration with ECOWAS in October 2013, in Abuja (Nigeria).
He stated that more recently, the ECOWAS Commission embarked on a process to reflect on the progress, challenges, and opportunities of the AUBP, in order to strengthen the Programme and its strategic role, which assessment process is motivated by the evolution of border governance in Africa, and the need to safeguard the impact of the Programme’s interventions at all levels.
He continued to say that the maiden Meeting of Heads of Boundary Commissions is a direct result of the 2024 Action Plan adopted in December 2023, which is a result of the ECOWAS Commission’s commitment, between the institutions, to adopt a pragmatic, coordinated and collaborative approach in supporting the implementation of border governance in West Africa.
In the quest for integration, through the RECs, he said, stable borders constitute a pre-requisite for peaceful neighbourly relations, cross border cooperation, and the full realization of the broader goals and aspirations of AU’s Agenda 2063.
Mr Albert Siaw Boateng – Director, Free Movement of ECOWAS, said the meeting is to institutionalize the Heads of National Boundary Commissions of West Africa Meetings, to exchange ideas related to better governance of borders, as an instrument on socioeconomic integration – which has been an ambition of ECOWAS since its creation in 1975.
He said that the concept of border countries is part of the integration of West Africa, and that the cross-border initiatives program was created in 2006.
He continued that the Meeting will explore presenting the common opportunities and challenges of cross-border regions like West Africa, take stock of existing strategies and programs in the ECOWAS Region and the scope of intervention.
It will also identify synergies to facilitate collaboration or coordination, both vertically and horizontally between Member States, regional integration structures of ECOWAS and UEMOA, AU and Technical and Financial Partners, and defining the practical modalities for the institutionalization of the Heads of Boundary Commissions in West Africa.
Also present at the Meeting included Surveyor Adamu Adaji – Chairperson, National Boundary Commission of Nigeria; representative of ECOWAS – Mr Eric Kondia, GIZ (AUBP), Chief Directors and representatives of Ghanaian Ministries, Ambassadors and Representatives of Ambassadors, and GhBC Staff.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
