Ghana Calls for ‘Intelligent Gateways’ to Strengthen West Africa’s Border Security
Deputy Minister for the Interior, Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, has called on West African countries to transform their borders from physical barriers into “intelligent gateways” that balance security, trade and human mobility in the digital age.
Speaking at the West Africa Border Security Week in Accra, Mr Terlabi said the theme of the event, “Intelligent Border Management: Balancing Security, Trade and Mobility in a Digital Age,” should be viewed as a strategic question for the future of the region rather than simply a conference topic.
He noted that the same routes used by legitimate travellers and traders could also be exploited by traffickers, smugglers, organised criminal networks and terrorists.
“We must facilitate the movement of legitimate people and goods while making it increasingly difficult for criminals to exploit our borders. That is the essence of intelligent border management,” he said.
Technology Key to Modern Border Security
The Deputy Minister said the future of border security must be intelligence-led, technology-driven and interoperable, noting that criminal organisations increasingly use technology and share information across national boundaries.
“Criminal organisations do not respect borders. They share information, use technology and exploit gaps between institutions,” he said.
“Our response must therefore be equally sophisticated. We cannot defeat twenty-first-century criminal networks with fragmented twentieth-century systems,” he added.
Mr Terlabi pointed to Ghana’s recent launch of its new E-Visa platform by President John Dramani Mahama as an example of efforts to modernise border management.
The platform is expected to move visa processing away from manual procedures towards a technology-driven system designed to improve service delivery while strengthening security.
He also highlighted Ghana’s role in regional integration, noting that the country is among seven ECOWAS member states to have deployed the ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card.
He called for greater interoperability between national systems to facilitate real-time information sharing and improve coordination among border agencies.
Security and Trade Must Work Together
Mr Terlabi stressed that border security and trade facilitation should not be treated as competing objectives.
“A border that is insecure discourages investment. A border that is unpredictable increases the cost of doing business,” he said.
He argued that the goal should be to “make legitimate trade faster and make illicit trade harder.”
The Deputy Minister further emphasised the importance of regional cooperation, saying Ghana’s security and economic prosperity are closely linked to those of its neighbours.
“The security of Ghana is inseparable from the security of our neighbours. The prosperity of Ghana is strengthened by the prosperity of our region,” he said.
He urged West African countries to move away from viewing borders merely as lines separating countries and instead develop them into intelligent gateways capable of securing, connecting and supporting economic growth across the region.
The West Africa Border Security Week brought together ministers, heads of immigration, customs, police and other security agencies, as well as representatives of ECOWAS and development partners, to discuss a new agenda for border management in West Africa.
