The Governor of the South-West Region of Burkina Faso Colonel Tagseba Nitiema has expressed some disquiet about the unabated destruction of the environment by illegal loggers, illegal miners and fishermen who fish with dangerous chemicals.
He said the actions of the recalcitrant individuals continue to threaten the land and water bodies in and around the Upper West Region, the South-West Region of Burkina Faso and the Buonkani Region in Côte d’Ivoire.
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Colonel Tagseba Nitiema said there must be synergized efforts in the fight against environmental degradation.
“Our three regions are exposed to the same dangers of degradation of water, flora and fauna. To this end, we should establish a common and shared strategy for better management of our natural resources,” he said.
The Governor of the South-West Region of Burkina Faso said this while addressing the Tripartite Cross-Border Working Meeting at Wa in the Upper West Region.
The objective of the meeting was to enable the authorities of the three regions address the main concerns of the people of the regions in the context of cross-border cooperation.
The meeting discussed the following topics: Security, Illegal Mining, Environment, Education, Health, Culture, Agriculture, Transhumance, Trade and Tourism.
Colonel Tagseba Nitiema also called for concerted efforts to deal with the insecurity and deliberate “administrative slowness” at certain border points.
He suggested that the three regions “must therefore strengthen our system by creating new security posts at our borders.” He also called for joint patrols in our border areas.
The Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Amidu Chinnia Issahaku in his address reminded participants about the strategies that that were adopted in the last tripartite meeting at Gauoa in Burkina Faso last year.
He said those strategies must be enforced to boost inter-country trade including professionalism of officers at the frontiers of respective countries.
The Tripartite Cross-Border Working Meeting at Wa in the Upper West Region was attended by delegations from the South-West Region of Burkina Faso, Bounkani Region of Côte d’Ivoire and the Deputy Upper West Region of Ghana.
The meeting was funded by the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council with support from the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ).
In a communique adopted at the end of the session and signed by the Governor of the Bounkani Region Joseph Kpan Droh, the Governor of the South-West Region of Burkina Faso Colonel Nitiema and the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister Chinnia Issahaku, called on the three regions to synergize their efforts in tackling issues that affect the three countries.
Story by Mark Smith
