News:
September 4, 2021
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the Jomoro Municipal Assembly, Ernest Kofie in receiving petition from demonstrators on Thursday, September 2, 2021 which called on government to put in place the necessary safety protocols and open the land borders of the country, told demonstrators that the issue of the re-opening and closure of the Elubo border is a preserve of the President Nana Akufo-Addo.
As such, he assured the demonstrators that the petition received would be delivered to the president and whatever decision he needs to take would be taken, not only in the interest of the people of Jomoro but in the interest of the people of Ghana the whole exercise was conducted.
He commended the demonstrators for the peaceful and orderly manner the whole exercise was conducted.
Below is the petition presented to the MCE:
PETITION TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA, NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO, TO CAUSE TO REOPEN GHANA’S LAND BORDERS NOW.
Your Excellency, we the Concerned Youth of Jomoro Municipality, humbly present you with this petition asking for your kind consideration to reopen our (Ghana’s) land borders.
Your Excellency, our petition is as follows:
- That, the prolonged closure of our land borders has caused businesses to collapse because all businesses in our border towns are rooted in these borders.
- That businessmen and businesswomen in Elubo are not able to repay their loans due to drastically reduced patronage of goods and expired goods.
- That, Ghanaian Cocoa Farmers whose farms are on Ivorian soil are no longer able to work on their farms thereby causing a huge financial loss to both farmers and government.
- That, most affected parents are not able to fend for their wards’ education owing to the prolonged border closure in Elubo. Some tertiary students whose parents are now unable to fend for their tertiary education are now school dropouts.
- That, the closure of our land borders especially that of Elubo, is instead detrimental to the very human health we are protecting. Your excellency, people troop in and out of Ghana through unapproved routes without getting tested for COVID-19. This defeats the purpose for which the borders were closed.
- That, crime is on the increase in our border areas. The youth whose day-to-day economic activities depended on the border now look to crime and other social vices as alternatives to making ends meet.
Your Excellency, we humbly make the following demands/seek the following reliefs:
- That, Antigen testing regime be instituted at our land borders just as instituted at the Kotoka International Airport to allow free movement of persons. Your Excellency, the traffic flow at the KIA far outweighs that of our land borders.
- That, our land borders be opened for free movement of persons just as our neighbouring countries, Togo, Cote D’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso have done with respect to the decision made at the 58th Meeting of the ECOWAS Heads of States on the 23rd of January, 2021 which was chaired by Your Excellency.
We pray Your Excellency kindheartedly consider our petition and help return life to our border communities by reopening our land borders.
Long live Your Excellency
Long live Jomoro
Long live Mother Ghana
Thank You.
Conveners:
Nana Frendoh Bosso Kwasi
Assembly Member Elubo West Electoral Area
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com