Bolgatanga, Ghana – Representatives from Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Togo convened in Bolgatanga to discuss strategies to combat cattle rustling and enhance border security. The meeting, themed ‘Challenges of Cross Border Transhuman,’ was organized by the Ghana National Association of Cattle Farmers (GNACF) in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, with sponsorship from the European Union through Promeditators based in Burkina Faso. The gathering brought together various stakeholders, including traditional leaders, security agencies, cattle farmers, and farmer groups from the three countries.
According to Ghana News Agency, the early part of 2023 witnessed protests in communities like Bongo-Soe, Sherigu, Naaga, and Nabdam in Ghana’s Upper East Region, demanding the expulsion of individuals of the Fulbe extraction due to incidents of cattle rustling. This situation escalated tensions and created security concerns in the area. Participants at the meeting linked the rise in cattle rustling and border insecurity to violent extremism, alleging that extremists were selling rustled cattle to finance their criminal activities.
Mr. Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister, highlighted in a speech read on his behalf the urgency of proactive measures to address this issue to prevent harm to bilateral relations among the member states. He identified the lack of effective collaboration among ECOWAS Member states as a major challenge and mentioned ongoing efforts by the Upper East Regional Security Council to engage political heads of Burkina Faso and Togo in addressing these challenges.
The Regional Minister also noted a decline in cattle trade and other related trades among ECOWAS countries, attributed to the closure of borders as a part of measures to prevent violent extremism. Imam Hanafi Sonde, the National Chairman of GNACF, called for the establishment of effective mechanisms, including the formation of committees composed of security agencies, cattle farmers, and dealer groups at the municipal and district levels, to tackle the problem. He emphasized the importance of clear operational modalities and sanctions for violating these modalities to efficiently identify and address the issues of crop destruction and cattle rustling by herdsmen.
Dr. Kwame Oppong-Anane, Chairman of the Ghana Cattle Ranching and Transhuman Committee of MOFA, also reiterated the seriousness of the cattle rustling issue and called for a multisectoral approach to effectively manage the problem across the borders of these countries.