PARLIAMENT PASSED a new convention that offers significant chances to boost security and combat terrorism by establishing cross-border cooperation with neighbouring countries and strengthening Ghana’s integrated border management systems.
The African Union Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation, which is also known as Niamey Convention, was ratified by Parliament yesterday in accordance with Article 75 of the Constitution, and it is intended to improve Ghana’s image as a country which is committed to the African Union and ECOWAS.
According to the Foreign Affairs Committee, which worked on the agreement document, only 17 of the 55 AU Member States have signed the Convention, and only five of those 17 have ratified it and deposited the instruments of ratification with the AU Commission in accordance with Article 17 of the Convention.
Ghana signed it on July 4, 2017, and because the country is bordered by Togo and Burkina Faso, lawmakers felt it was prudent for Parliament to ratify the Convention in order to ensure better cooperation with neighbouring states and to curb terrorist actions within the states’ borders.
The Committee recognised that, despite previous efforts to establish a boundary commission to assist in the proper demarcation of the country’s borders, the process was not completed until three years ago, when the Ghana Boundary Commission became operational.
The Commission informed the Committee about the porous nature of our boundaries and the need to properly define and secure them in collaboration with our neighbouring states.
According to the Boundary Commission, a state is well defined when its borders are distinct. The issue of border demarcation has therefore become more imminent due to terrorist activities in our neighbouring states.
The Committee urges the state to properly resource the Boundary Commission to ensure that it carries out its mandate and assists in securing our borders.
Challenges
The Committee said it was informed that the Ghana Boundary Commission, which ensures that Ghana’s land, maritime and air boundaries are effectively secured and managed, rents its own office accommodation.
Some of the MPs expressed concern about the inability of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to find a parcel of land for the Commission to site its office building to ensure some savings are made.
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources informed the Committee that arrangements were being made to allocate land to the Commission for the construction of its own office building in the ensuing year, the report also indicated.
But the MPs wanted the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to collaborate with the Ministry of Works and Housing to identify a suitable government building to house the Commission, in the interim, to avoid payment of rent.
Boundaries
The MPs observed that the Boundary Commission is underfunded considering the enormity of its work.
According to the Commission, it was allocated an amount of GH¢2 million for the 2021 Fiscal Year, but they only received GH¢670,000.
BY Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House