Togbe Afede XIV, President of the National House of Chiefs has bemoaned the effect of the border closure on indigenes of the Volta Region who he says could be trapped between the borderlines.
Ghana’s borders were closed to human traffic because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Ahead of the voter registration exercise, military and immigration officers were also deployed to man the borders to support the fight against COVID-19.
But some observers have noted that the government did not take into account the Ghanaians who crossed between some of Ghana’s borders on a daily basis for school and economic activities, among others.
In a statement, Togbe Afede recounted his tour of some parts of the region which informed some of his fears.
“I am still haunted by the plight of those citizens of Leklebi-Kame who are trapped on the about 300-meter stretch of land between the Ghana Immigration Service barrier and the actual Ghana-Togo border.”
He said they had not been able to register to vote during the Electoral Commission’s mass registration exercise.
Aside from this, he also said their means of living and social activities had also been disrupted.
Despite creating awareness of such plights, Togbe Afede lamented that “nothing has been done so far to solve their problem.”
He thus made one more plea to the Ghana Immigration Service.
“I would like to ask the Ghana Immigration Service to move these borders closer to the actual borers in order not to deny some citizens access to their own country in the future.”
In the meantime, he also urged the authorities “not to forget these people during future border closures.”
