Illegal Monetization of Ghana to Côte d’Ivoire road by security officers

The Illegal Monetization of Ghana Côte d’Ivoire road by security officers

The monetization of the Ghana to Côte d’Ivoire road by security officers is a disturbing reality for drivers and travellers who travel this stretch of cross-border road.

The journey is roughly an 8-hour journey from Kaneshie to Elibo, then you do another 4 to 5 hours from Noe, at the border to Abidjan. Hence, you spend 11 to 13 hours on the road, monetized by the officers in uniform.

Travelling into and from one West African country to another should be devoid of human-created impediments, but this is not the case for drivers and travellers from Ghana to Côte d’Ivoire and vice versa.

A journey from Keneshie in Accra by a Ford bus to Elibo and then to Noe en route to Abidjan is saddled with many challenges, and chief among them is open extortion of money by officers in uniform.

The monetization of the road by some security officers stationed on the road at official checkpoints and not-so-official ones will make you feel very bad, cheated and abused. However, these officers seem not to be bothered.

The MTTU of the Ghana Police, the immigration officers and military service personnel along the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire road are worth praising, but the extortion of money from passengers and drivers is a no-no which they enjoy doing.

Nearly every security check point you get to, you may have to part with money as a driver to continue the journey.

Unnecessary delays will be slapped on you as a driver if you attempt to prove you know the law and your rights.

In one instance, some travellers on the Ford bus I travelled with had to put some money together to be added to that of the driver, so we can be allowed to travel.

The crime of the driver was that he was, per the security officers, over speeding at a speed of 62 km per hour when the driver indicated he was not. Once the speed dictating handheld machine was pointed at the driver, he was told he was overspeeding. What!, it is a lie, he told the passengers.

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He denied it, saying he wants the proof on the machine, but the police officer decided not to show it to him and started writing an invitation for the driver to appear in court.

The long and short is money was requested, and he paid before he was allowed to travel. In fact, he was so angry but could do nothing. If the police officer says he will arrest you, you can never escape

At immigration checkpoints, foreigners were charged Ghs20 to Ghs50.00 before they were allowed to continue the journey.

Upon reaching the Ghana border with Côte d’Ivoire, the extortion went on, but not as was the case on the road.

Before you enter the immigration office area at the Ghana border, you have to pay 10,000 CFA, which is equivalent to Ghs120.00. This is paid to the guys who will help you cross to the Ivorian side.

They pay nearly 70ghs or 7,000 CFA to officers on the Ghana and Ivorian frontier end to help you cross. Monetization of our borders only makes travelling by road further expensive and challenging.

You can imagine what would happen to you if you don’t have money to pay for all these informal charges and extortion by our so-called security officers at the border.

Ghanaians who cross the border but have their Ghana card were charged Ghs10.00-Ghs20.00 at the immigration checkpoint, while Ivorians and other nationals paid not less than Ghs50.00 to get their documents processed at the departure point on Ghana’s side. All this money ends up in individual pockets to the detriment of the states. Again, since the money collected is illegal, it amounts to extortion.

To cross the border, your pocket must do the talking and speak the language of the officers.

On the Ivorian border, monetization goes on as well. Travellers have to pay for yellow fever, but the money goes into an individual’s pocket.

The fees charged and the number of people moving from one end of the frontier to the other created a good source of income for officers stationed here, to the detriment of other African brothers and nationals. There is nothing like hiding the collection of illegal money here.

At Noe, the border town on the Côte d’Ivoire end of the journey, once you pay your lorry fair to Abidjan, you pay the same amount to the driver which the driver will use to pay for the extortion and monetary demands by officers until you get to your destination.

The illegal monetization of the Ghana border and the Ivorian frontier does not only extort money from drivers and travellers but also denies the two countries revenue.

If all the money collected at both ends of the border are receipted and paid into government coffers, the funds would have been used for the benefit of the citizens of both countries.

Both governments need to deal with the extortion, which affects nearly foreigners and Ghanaians alike.

Both Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire cannot deny the fact that they are harming each other and causing more harm to citizens and foreigners who cross the borders.

Haven monetized the roads and the borders, they are also tarnishing the image of their security services and nations.

Both governments need to state thinking strategically as to how they can turn the border towns into very important economic and business hubs and develop ecotourism in the border towns.

Building hotels, restaurants and attractive ecotourism covering a distance of about 5 kilometres on both sides will transform the area into a buzzing business and tourism hub for both nations.

READ: How to travel by road from Accra-Ghana to Cote d’Ivoire-Abidjan

The current look and feel of the borders show the lack of strategic thinking and planning. Both countries must tap into the goldmines of the two strategic locations of Elibo and Noe.  Hotels, Restaurants, and Tourist destinations within such locations can boost economic activities at the borders.

The Illegal Monetization of Ghana Côte d’Ivoire roads by security officers needs to be checked now. This extortion must stop now.