Pundits have praised the President’s announcement to fully reopen the land borders, emphasizing the benefits to traders who conduct business along and across Ghana’s borders.
They however stressed that it comes with continued apprehension over the lingering impediments to trade that exists across the transit corridors and borders of Ghana and her West African neighbors.
Speaking on Eye on Port, Ziad Hamoui, the National President of Borderless Alliance, a cross-border trade advocacy group and Jonathan Osei Owusu, Executive Director of POS Foundation, a human rights civil society organization touched on the ordeal traders suffered during the travel restrictions at the borders.
Mr. Ziad Hamoui said “the biggest impact on economic activity had to do with the border communities which hither to were regularly engaged in the movement of small loads of perishable goods and wares across the borders for their livelihoods.
The closure of the borders severely impacted on their lives and the economic power of these communities. Another major aspect is tourism. Where people move, trade moves.”
Mr. Jonathan Osei added that, “we just came back from Burkina Faso last night and it will interest you to know that the relief that has been brought to the border communities is very significant because their daily bread and sustainability depended on the borders opening.”
However, they lamented that beyond the reopening of borders, there remains several trading blocks hindering the easy flow of goods across the sub-region and called for the harmonization of border control procedures that would truly reflect the continent’s integration objectives.