Home Defence GhBC MUST BE FIT-FOR-PURPOSE – MINISTER

GhBC MUST BE FIT-FOR-PURPOSE – MINISTER

by Kofi Ampeah Woode

Ghana’s Minister of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR) and Member of Parliament (MP) for Damango – Mr Samuel Abdulaye Jinapor, has said that the Ghana Boundaries Commission (GhBC) has to be fit-for-purpose, up-to-scratch and capable of leading government’s efforts at protecting the territorial integrity of Ghana.

The Minister’s working visit on Thursday, 12 January, 2023 – the first time since his appointment in March 2021 – forked out critical challenges of the commission, such as lack of funding, logistics and proper office space (for the Commission operates from a rented building at Kanda, Accra), to which the Minister assured solutions, after touring the office facilities and been briefed by the National Coordinator, GhBC – Major General (Maj Gen) Emmanuel Kotia and staff.

He furthered that his meeting’s purpose was to familiarize himself with the activities, challenges and projections of the commission, fashion out a roadmap and strategy to deal with all existing boundary issues, as well as bring some certainty to boundary issues of Ghana, particularly as it relates to maritime boundaries.

Speaking to the press after his engagement with the commission, Mr Jinapor said although it was a first-time visit, he had been in regular touch, being furnished with quarterly and annual reports, which has been scrutinized by himself and the President of Ghana, to ensure that the nation’s international boundaries, demarcation, delimitations and reaffirmations are sacrosanct.

In a subsequent engagement with the National Coordinator of the Commission, General E Kotia, who sees the Minister’s visit as adequate recognition for the GhBC, was emphatic that there were no issues between Ghana and la Cote d’Ivoire with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) ruling, and that the two West African neighbours are working on smooth implementation of the International Court’s conclusive and final ruling and any issues that may come up in future.

On the pollution of water bodies – particularly, Rivers Bia and Tano – he said the GhBC and its Ivorian counterpart are collaborating via intelligence, to reverse the menace of illegal mining, popularly called ‘Galamsey’ in Ghana, and that in subsequent meetings, strategies will be mapped out for various actors.

In reference to a meeting held with the Ivorian boundary authority in Accra, in December 2022, he said the two national commissions have agreed to have a reaffirmation of common land boundaries, with effect from April, 2023, from whence they would mutually handle issues with ‘Dollar Power Town’ – a shared community on the northern border between the two neighbouring countries, noted for illegal mining and armed robbery activities – spend time there to device solutions to issues from that enclave.

He additionally hinted of an agreement on cross-border cooperation, whereby communities along the common boundaries, would be helped to find resources for education, health and other issues of concern.

The GhBC, established through the Ghana Boundary Commission Act, 2010 Act 795, is responsible for giving technical advice and also leading Ghana’s effort at protecting its territorial integrity. The institution has also engaged with Burkina Faso and Togo, Ghana’s northern and eastern neighbours, respectively, and in the ensuing year, intends to deepen engagements for clarifying border lines.

Although presently, the mandate of the boundary commission does not permit it into matters of Ghana’s internal boundaries, Maj Gen Kotia revealed that his Commission has presented a draft Bill, which is being scrutinized at the MLNR, enroute to the Cabinet and Parliament.

If the Bill is passed, the GhBC would additionally be entrusted with the authority to resolving internal boundary disputes, including electoral boundary disputes; the General foresees that as the Commission expands, there will be the need for satellite offices in some of the administrative regions of Ghana, to complement the efforts of the national office.

By Kofi Ampeah-Woode

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