The Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, has indicated that the government would fully re-open Ghana’s borders if the 20 million COVID-19 vaccination target is achieved.
He said the government’s decision to shut down the borders was not unilateral, but consistent with other safety measures and protocols instituted by other countries to prevent spread of the disease.
Mr. Dery said recent moves to acquire vaccines and the availability of vaccines donated by development partners indicate that the target would soon be achieved.
The Minister was speaking in Accra when he inaugurated the Governing Council of the Ghana Immigration Service, (GIS). The Minister called on the public to cooperate with Immigration Personnel to help them to deal with extremist activities which may be imported into the country.
Agitations to re-open the country’s land borders have been rife in recent times. Some residents of Ketu South district of the Volta Region in August 2021 held a demonstration to demand that the Aflao border be re-opened, citing that the closure took a toll on their economic livelihoods.
Also, another protest was held on September 2, 2021 at the Elubo in the Western Region, where residents demanded the re-opening of the Elubo border. According to the indigenes, the continuous closure of the Elubo land borders affected their livelihoods.
After the Open Borders demonstration was held in the Volta Region, the Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Letsa gave the assurance that the borders would re-opened after thorough consultations.
Also, after the 2nd Open Borders demonstration was held at Elubo in the Western Region to mount pressure on the government to re-open the land borders, President Akufo Addo commented on the issue saying that as soon as health authorities gave the go-ahead the borders would be re-opened. He cautioned those mounting the pressure to be circumspect because of the coronavirus surge in other countries, and stated that ‘’Ghana was not out of the woods yet’’, so far as the pandemic was concerned.
Ghana’s borders were closed in March 2020 on the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
