Source: newsthemegh.com
As Africa celebrates Africa Border Day, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, has called for a coordinated effort to manage the nation’s land borders properly and efficiently.
“Let us continue working towards effective and efficient border management, and not make our borders barriers that divide us, but bridges that connect us and promote peace, security, and development for our nations and our continent,” he said.
On Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in honor of the 13th African Border Day, the Minister addressed the House of Representatives and declared that “an efficient and effective border management is sine qua non to our noble and historic quest to provide a secured continent so that we can unleash prosperity for the long-suffering peoples of Africa.
Boundary concerns will continue to be important to our security and peaceful coexistence, especially because our border lines were defined for us in Africa without our agreement, involvement, and consideration of our cultural, traditional, and political legacy.
Mr. Jinapor provided a brief history of the day’s origins, stating that the African Ministers in charge of border issues adopted it at their second meeting in 2010, which was held in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, in order to highlight the value of the African Union Border Programme (AUBP) for international harmony, regional cooperation, and continental integration.
According to him, the African Day is also used to recognize the accomplishments of the continent’s individual members of the African Union as well as the continent as a whole with regard to securing and managing national borders and to chart a course for overcoming upcoming challenges.
According to the Minister, this year’s African Border Day event is particularly noteworthy since it encourages all of Africa to consider how crucial borders are to global security, stability, and sustainable development.
The Minister added that borders are complex systems that demand good management, coordination, and cooperation from all stakeholders. Borders are not only physical obstacles that divide nations.
“As a continent, we continue to face obstacles that make it difficult to advance peace, stability, and prosperity along borders, including transnational organized crime, terrorism, violent extremism, smuggling, and irregular migration.”
The African Union Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation, also known as the Niamey Convention, was adopted in 2014 to address these issues, advance cross-border cooperation efforts, promote peaceful border dispute resolution, and support efficient and effective integrated border management, he told the house.
Therefore, Mr. Jinapor praised the efforts made by the Parliamentary Members for their collaboration in ensuring that the African Union Convention on Cross-Border collaboration was quickly ratified at the First Meeting of the Third Session of this Parliament.
Additionally, he expressed gratitude to all the security services that took part in the exercise. “As we remember this day, let us reaffirm our dedication to collaborating to solve the problems affecting our borders. In order to make sure that our borders are safe, stable, and supportive of the prosperity of the peoples of Africa, let’s encourage more cooperation among our nations, regional organizations, and international partners.
Mr. Jinapor warmly praised the Ghana Boundary Commission for the diligent effort being done to secure, demarcate, and delimit the international boundaries in compliance with the Ghana Boundary Commission Act, 2010 (Act 795), under the direction of its Coordinator, Major General Emmanuel W. Kotia.