Extortion at border points influences use of unapproved routes – Study reveals
Experiences and perceptions of extortion at Ghana's official border posts, coupled with the lack of travel documents and financial constraints of immigrants, have been identified as factors influencing the use of unapproved routes into the country.
A study of West African itinerant immigrant retailers in Ghana, which revealed this, therefore, argues that Ghana’s border management should go beyond surveillance to address the factors that make travellers avoid official crossing points.
The study, titled “Cross-Border Migration of Itinerant Immigrant Retailers in Ghana”, was conducted by Professor Elijah Yendaw, a professor of population and migration studies at the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS), Wa.
This was contained in a policy brief, titled “Free Movement, Unapproved Routes: Closing Ghana’s Documentation, Trust and Border-Governance Gaps for West African Itinerant Traders.”
The data used for this brief were drawn from a study undertaken in the Accra Metropolis through a concurrent nested mixed-methods research design underpinned by the pragmatic philosophy viewpoint.
The study sampled 779 West African itinerant immigrant retailers and found that 58.2 per cent of the respondents reported entering Ghana through unapproved routes, while 41.8 per cent used approved routes.
Additionally, the study indicated that all respondents travelled by land, with 71.9 per cent using buses or other vehicles and 28.1 per cent travelling by foot.
The brief, therefore, stressed the importance of reforming Ghana's border posts to encourage regular migration.
“Approved borders should be made easier to understand, safer to use, more accountable and more attractive than unapproved alternatives,” it said.
The brief indicated that all respondents who said the lack of travel documents influenced their route choice reported using unapproved routes, while 98.4 per cent of the respondents who reported having travel documents used approved entry points.
It described documentation as a practical migration-management tool and argued that there was the need to make legitimate travel identification easier to obtain to help encourage the use of approved routes.
Also, the study said high costs of regular travel had made unapproved alternatives attractive, as 95.8 per cent of respondents who reported difficulty in financing their journeys resorted to unapproved routes.
Furthermore, it revealed allegations of harassment and demands for informal payments at some official crossing points.
“These are the research participant reports and should not be interpreted as independently verified prevalence estimates of misconduct.
A stronger policy response is, therefore, not simply more border control; it is better border governance”, it stated.
The study, therefore, proposed six policy actions, including making approved routes easier to use, expanding documentation and pre-travel information access and creating credible anti-extortion and complaint mechanisms.
Others were targeting surveillance using corridor-specific evidence, building reliable databases on mobile immigrant traders and border movements, and engaging migrant associations and border communities as governance partners.
The report recommended that migrants should have clear information on required documents, legitimate charges, expected processing times and where to seek assistance at border points.
It further proposed the use of consulates, transport unions and immigrant associations, among others, to disseminate information on documentation requirements and ECOWAS mobility rights and responsibilities.
It said such information should be provided through commonly used regional languages and accessible channels, including radio, transport terminals, visual materials and community leaders.
The study also recommended that border communities should be treated as partners in orderly migration rather than merely as surveillance zones, to enable route mapping, information campaigns and identification of emerging movement patterns.
GNA