Ghana's Interior Minister, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has called for stronger cooperation among West African countries to combat transnational organised crime and improve border management. He made the call in Accra at the opening of a two-day regional workshop on cross-border cooperation frameworks. The workshop, organised under the European Union-funded SHIFT project, brought together representatives from Ghana, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, and Togo to share experiences and explore ways of improving border management.
The Minister emphasised the need for coordinated efforts to tackle transnational organised crime and ensure safe, orderly, and regular migration across the sub-region. He noted that criminal networks do not recognise national boundaries and that stronger collaboration is needed to tighten border management. The workshop aims to identify common priorities and explore ways of improving border management, with a focus on sharing experiences and best practices.
The Ghanaian Times welcomes the emphasis on coordinated efforts, improved infrastructure, and adequate logistics to address shared security and migration challenges. However, the real test will come after the workshop, with practical cooperation and information sharing being crucial to addressing these challenges. West Africa has held many meetings on security, but what is needed now is practical cooperation.
The SHIFT project provides an opportunity to strengthen cooperation among participating countries, with a focus on improving integrated border management and strengthening coordination. The initiative seeks to improve border management and strengthen coordination among participating countries. The project is valued at about €7.3 million and aims to deliver practical improvements in border management and regional security.
To achieve this, countries in the sub-region need reliable channels for exchanging information quickly and lawfully. Border security also requires investment in personnel, with properly trained and adequately resourced officers being essential to identifying emerging threats. Technology and surveillance equipment are important, but they cannot replace well-trained officers.
Border communities must be treated as partners in efforts to improve border security. Residents living along the borders are often best placed to identify unusual activities and can provide valuable information when they have confidence in security agencies. Stronger border security must not make legitimate movement and trade unnecessarily difficult, with millions of West Africans depending on cross-border trade and movement for their livelihoods.
The four countries participating in the SHIFT project have an opportunity to demonstrate what effective regional cooperation can achieve. Governments must now give the initiative the political backing and resources required to succeed, with clear targets set for intelligence sharing, joint operations, border infrastructure, training, and community engagement. The success of regional cooperation should be measured by the criminal networks disrupted and communities made safer.
Key points
- West African countries are urged to strengthen cooperation on border security to combat transnational organised crime.
- The European Union-funded SHIFT project aims to improve integrated border management and strengthen coordination among participating countries.
- Effective regional cooperation is crucial to addressing shared security and migration challenges in West Africa.
