Mr. Thomas Mbomba, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatatle/Sanguli and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, has stated that to promote easy internal movement of people, products, and services across West Africa, ECOWAS members must create a shared external border.

According to the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, there is the need to have a shared external border for ECOWAS countries, stressing that it would make West Africa a border-free zone to ease movement. 

Speaking at a stakeholder workshop on ‘Promoting Small Scale Cross Border Trade, Rule of Law and Use of Technology in West Africa’, Mr. Mbomba averred that, though ECOWAS has put in place a feasible framework to facilitate the free movement of people throughout West Africa as a preliminary to market integration, it has not done enough as there are still some barriers.

Some of the mechanisms put in place, he indicated, include the no entrance visas for community citizens; the right of residence and establishment; an ECOWAS Identity Card and ECOWAS Passport; and the Brown Card Insurance Scheme to ease vehicular transit between member states.

“The ECOWAS Passport and the Identity Cards were symbols of unity adopted to eliminate rigid border formalities and enhance the modernization of border procedures with passport-scanning machines and harmonized immigration forms designed to facilitate free and easier movement of persons across borders.”
Mr. Thomas Mbomba

Mr. Mbomba noted that the competitiveness of a country’s industry in the current global market economy is mainly dependent on the world trading system. This, he said, is crucial to the performance and consequently the survival of industries all over the world.

Africa to Develop Coordinated Technological Platform

Mr. Jonathan Osei Owusu, the Executive Director of POS Foundation, also intimated that the time has come for Africa to devote its time and resources to develop coordinated, coherent, and unified technological platforms that successfully connect with the region’s diverse institutions. He, therefore, urged Africans to take advantage of their continent’s variety in order to achieve long-term progress for its people.

“I am of the opinion that when systems within the region are unified, it will ease the stress and facilitate a smooth transaction of business and trade at the borders.”
Mr. Jonathan Osei Owusu

Mr. Owusu asserted that Africa must rise up and embrace proper technology in order to facilitate the coordination of systems across the region.

“It will also ensure that immigration, customs, health, and border control agencies and departments are capable of  monitoring and tracking movements of people, goods, and services along approved and unapproved routes.”
Mr. Jonathan Osei Owusu

Mr. Owusu pointed out that businesses and traders could only prosper in an environment where rules and policies are in place, and as such, he stated that the POS Foundation sought to promote small-scale border trade. He thus, said, “when laws obstructed development and trade, they must be reformed, repealed, or replaced.”

Mr. Owusu stressed that the diversity in the dynamism that exists within our respective countries must be fuel for change. It must provide a platform for which a unified and harmonized system is created to facilitate trade movement across the borders and increase economic independence, he added.

The Executive Director of POS Foundation encouraged African countries to organize themselves and their governments to coordinate efforts among states, strengthen current processes and institutions, and focus on the benefits that Africa has to offer in terms of human and natural resources.