Lomé, 27 october 2018. Ghanaian president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and his Togolese counterpart, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, are unanimously committed to ensuring the successful management of the Noepe-Akanu Joint Border Post (JBP) at the border between their countries.

In a joint address given by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday 26 October 2018 during the official handover ceremony the border post, both Heads of State called for wise management of the facility.

“We believe it is in our economic interest to ensure the success of the project. Hard work, creativity and an enterprising spirit will go a long way to create ample opportunity for improving the financial wellbeing of our citizens”, they stated.

Expressing the appreciation of the people of Ghana and Togo to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the European Union (EU) for their assistance in the construction of the border post, both leaders indicated that the post would enhance free movement of persons, goods and services, increase intra-regional trade, reduce trade and logistics cost, improve cross-border security and facilitate exchange of information.

They believe the border post equipped with weighbridges, baggage scanners, state-of-the-art IT equipment, joint inspection, intelligence sharing and joint risk management initiatives would considerably reduce delays at the border.

The two Heads of State advocated further collaboration between the customs authorities of Ghana and Togo to ensure that the border post delivers far better services than envisaged at Aflao and Kodjoviakopé.

Subsequently, the ECOWAS Commission President, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, thanked all who contributed to the building of the edifice particularly development partners like the EU, for the continued support to Member States and the regional organisation in the implementation of projects, programmes and action plans expected to deepen the integration process in West Africa.

He also thanked and paid glowing tribute to his predecessor, Marcel de Souza who was in attendance, for his invaluable contribution towards the realisation of the project.

In turn, the EU representative in Ghana reaffirmed her institution’s readiness to support ECOWAS in the construction of development infrastructure within the sub-region as was the case with the Noepe-Akanu Joint Border Post.

The border post, funded by the EU to the tune of €13,605,430, falls under the Regional Transport Facilitation Programme.

Located at about thirty kilometres from Lome, the Togolese capital, the border post is expected to facilitate formalities at the border between Ghana and Togo, poverty reduction, improved regional transport services, reduced transport and transaction costs, inter and intra-regional trade promotion, free movement of persons, goods and services, and the promotion of West African integration.

The JBP is of strategic importance and is located on the Abidjan-Lagos corridor which accounts for 70% of all transit trade in the sub-region. The corridor is also an integral part of the trans-African road network.

The Noepe-Akanu JBP has areas for passenger and vehicle transport, handling and freight (customs), transit and livestock inspection.

The 17-hectare site has two large buildings, new tarred parking lots, road networks, strong pavements, interlocking sett paving and pedestrian crossing, as well as new annex buildings.

The Noepe-Akanu Joint Border Post was initially built and commissioned in 2014 however it did not become operational for logistic reasons.

The completion and handover of the Noepe-Akanu joint border post is, on the one hand, a flagship project for Ecowas and, on the other hand, a good example of a regional public asset with many benefits notably for the sensitisation of border users between Togo and Ghana on the fight against harassment, extortion and bad practices along the corridor.

The Community embarked on the construction of Joint Border Posts to ensure better trade facilitation through a one-stop customs clearance to achieve economies of scale, simplify customs procedures, improve cooperation and coordinate controls, encourage the sharing of data and intelligence and step up the fight against fraud.

It is worth noting that the ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Pathe Gueye, and his predecessors Ebrima Njie and Celestin Talaki were also present at the ceremony.