Residents of eleven border communities in the Jaman North District of the Bono Region have appealed to the government, as a matter of urgency, to improve road infrastructure and telecommunications services in the area to enhance socio-economic development and strengthen security along the country’s International boundary with Cote d’Ivoire.
The border communities made these appeals when the Commissioner General of the Ghana Boundary Commission, Major General Anthony Ntem, paid courtesy calls on the chiefs and leadership of the various border communities, as part of a 5-day operational assessment and stakeholder engagements in the District.
Lamenting on the gravity of the issue, residents of the various border communities explained that they are unable to trade or access health and other essential services at the District capital due to the deplorable state of the roads, especially during the rainy season.
“When it rains, everything gets flooded. No cars come here. Our cashew rots on the farm”, Agya Suma, a resident of Jenini, bemoaned.
“We mostly sell our harvested cashew to buyers in Côte d’Ivoire due to the poor condition of the roads to Sampa. We are only about 2km away from the community in Côte d’Ivoire, and access to the place is relatively easier and more convenient, compared to the bad road linking us to Sampa, which is about 3.5 km away, ” A resident of Buko, another border community, confessed.
The border residents also decried the unreliable nature of Telecommunications services in the general area, which hampers communication, access to information, border security coordination and emergency response efforts.
While border communities such as Sampa, Kabree and Adadiem complained about the unstable nature of the mobile network in the area, residents of Kokosua No. 2, Bonakire, Jenini, Febi, Buko, Nsosomea, and Kuroase had no mobile network access.
“We do not have any mobile telephone networks to make calls. We are cut off as though we are not Ghanaians. During emergencies, we have no way of reaching security services. On education, our students sit for the same exams as counterparts in Accra who have access to digital tools to aid in their studies. Yet, our children who do not have the same opportunity are expected to perform as well as their peers in the cities.
The network issue is a threat to our safety and development and it must be urgently attended to, the chief of Kokosua No. 2, Nana Adu Kwaku Ababio, decried.
Other issues raised included the absence of a police station, a JHS Block and mechanised boreholes at Buko and Adadiem, the need for a CHPS compound at Jenini and the need for female teacher postings to Kokosua No. 2.
Major General Ntem assured the residents of the various border communities that the Commission will take active steps to draw the attention of the Ministries and Agencies responsible for addressing their concerns about the plight.
He noted that while human security needs assessments formed an important part of the Commission’s mandate, the Commission lacks the financial resources required to directly address the needs of the border residents.
“Boundary management is not only about pillars. It is also about the people living along the international boundaries. The Commission is very concerned about the developmental needs of border residents. We do not have funds to directly address all your needs. However, everything discussed would be part of our report to Government for intervention through the relevant ministries,” the Commissioner General pledged.
On the technical front, the Commission identified, inspected and surveyed a total of 26 International Boundary Pillars (IBPs) along Ghana’s International Land Boundary in the Jaman North District. While some of the IBPs were found to be intact, others were either displaced or destroyed.
The Ghana Boundary Commission and the National Boundary Commission are currently replacing all the IBPs that define the common Land Boundary in a 3 Phase Joint Reaffirmation Exercise.
Phase One of the joint exercise, covering a total distance of 150km, has been completed, and a commissioning ceremony is expected to be held in the coming days. Phase 2 of the exercise, which will extend to the Jaman North District, is expected to commence later this year.
All three related activities conducted in the Jaman North District form part of the Commission’s continuous efforts to define Ghana’s International Boundaries and safeguard the country’s territorial integrity, improve border security and promote socio-economic development in communities living along the boundary.
