Minister of Lands & Natural Resources
The newly inaugurated Boundary Commission Board has been charged by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to ensure that steps are put in place to resolve border challenges with Ghana’s neighbours.
According to the President, this will go a long way to avoid potential conflicts.
The President gave this charge Friday when he swore into office members of the Commission at a brief ceremony at the Jubilee House in Accra.
The Boundary Commission was established by an Act of Parliament, 2010 (Act 795).
The board is chaired by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor.
Proper demarcation
President Akufo-Addo stressed the urgent need for sustainable management of land and maritime boundaries and airspaces through proper demarcation, documentation and protection of boundary pillars in line with statutory and international laws to safeguard the sovereignty and interest of the nation.
“I am told, for instance, that one of our border pillars in the north is found in the middle of a popular drinking spot,” he said.
He indicated that such a situation, apart from being a potential for sparking conflicts with neighbours, has implications for the country’s security, social and economic development.
The President recounted the maritime border dispute with Cote d’Ivoire which had to finally be determined by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
Among other boundary challenges the Commission is working to find solutions to are those with Togo and Burkina Faso at Sapaliga in the Bawku West district and Paga in the Kassina Nankana district, both of the Upper East Region.
He said the vast amount of mineral resources along the borders makes it imperative that the country resolves the disagreements to forestall any needless conflict.
The President expressed the hope that the board would offer the Commission the necessary support to tackle the challenges.
Board Members
Other members of the board include Godfred Yeboah Dame,Attorney, General and Minister of Justice; Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration; Dominic Nitiwul, Minister of Defence; Lawrence Asangongo Apaalse, representative from Energy Ministry; Nathaniel Amonoo Wilson(Transport); Samuel Seth Passah (Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development); Osei Bonsu Dickson,(National Security Council); and Emmanuel Philip Owusu-Boakye
The rest are representatives of the Ghana Institute of Surveyors, Michael Enam Dordor; the Ghana Institute of Geoscientists, Professor Jerry Samuel Yaw Kuma; a representative of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Dr Bukari Ali; the National Coordinator of the Ghana Boundary Commission, Maj. Gen. Dr. Emmanuel Kotia; and a representative of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture yet to be nominated.
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