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The Government of Ghana is committed to working with the ECOWAS Commission to ensure the implementation of the Free Movement Protocol for the benefit of all ECOWAS Member States.
To this end, the country proposes that the Commission strengthen joint programs between and among the Member States in order to minimize or eliminate barriers to regional trade.
Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Ghana's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, during a two-day sensitization and awareness campaign on free movement and migration in the ECOWAS region, which kicked off Thursday Accra.
In addition to presentations on the ECOWAS protocol on free movement and migration, awareness programs have been organized for Kwame Nkrumah circle carriers, local authorities and law enforcement agencies at the police headquarters. , cross-border traders in Tudu and traders at the Accra Arts Center.
Ms. Botchwey, whose speech was read on behalf of Ghana, announced the launch in 2018 of the ECOWAS identity card issuance process, the first step in the implementation of the protocol on free movement, adding 560 000 cards had been issued and would operationalize their use by March 2020.
In addition, Ghana has facilitated the free movement of people and goods in the country by removing several security checkpoints on the country's highways.
Notwithstanding this, she said that the country is committed to ensuring that the security of its borders is not compromised.
Ms. Botchwey said that the colonial division of Africa had done much to limit the free movement of people in the region. "The rules and regulations applied by national institutions have also led to unprecedented changes and distortions that have also limited the free movement of people and economic activities. These developments have contributed to the prevalence of poverty and underdevelopment in the region, "she added.
She mentioned the difficulties encountered in the implementation of the protocol on free movement, including the lack of knowledge about the rights and responsibilities enshrined in the ECOWAS protocol on free movement, irregular migration, transnational crime, such as: trafficking in human beings and the vulnerability of ECOWAS citizens, migrants and travelers. of ECOWAS.
Other issues are the lack of valid travel documents and ID cards for community citizens, migrants and travelers, the high level of harbadment and extortion of money at the border crossing and the vulnerability of traders and cross-border traders.
Dr. Tony Luka Elumelu, Directorate of Free Movement of ECOWAS, argued that ECOWAS citizens were not foreigners, but rather citizens of the community. He therefore urged the Member States to recognize this and the criminals tried were the crimes committed rather than deport them to their mother country.
Source: DSI
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