Ghanaians Stranded in Ivory Coast

INFORMATION GATHERED at some border posts in the Brong Ahafo Region yesterday, had it that most Ghanaian nationals in Bouake, Cote d'Ivoire, have been stranded in the city, since war broke out from the failed coup attempt by some rebel soldiers in the country.

These Ghanaians, according to information, are locked up in the city, because there were no means of transport and personnel to evacuate them to Ghana.

Narrating this to Chronicle at the Sampa border post, the Deputy Superintendent of Immigration in charge of the post, Mr. Emmanuel Hormenoo, said one of the returnees from the war-torn city, Bouake, disclosed this to him.

Hermenoo quoted the returnee as saying that Ghanaians there are not able to go out to buy food, water and other important commodities. "There is the likelihood of being killed if one attempts to go outside," he added.

Mr. Hormenoo told Chronicle that so far, only two returnees had been registered at the Sampa border post, but the situation at Kwamesei-Krom was different regarding the inflow of returnees.

The authorities at the post said 25 returnees had been received and registered. At Gonokrom border post, one returnee was registered, bringing the total of returnees to 27 at the Brong Ahafo border posts.

The immigration authorities at Gonokrom told this reporter that a Burkinabe national also arrived from Bouake into the country. All the returnees had left to their various destinations at the time Chronicle got to the border posts.

At the border posts, economic activities had slowed down drastically. At Sampa for example, the market women and traders complained bitterly about the slow pace at which their wares were being purchased.

This reporter reached Sampa on Monday, which is coincidentally the market day for the town but very little business was seen being transacted. In an interview with some of the traders, they attributed the slow pace of economic activity to the conflict in Cote d'Ivoire.

According to them, the only people who could cross the Sampa border to do business are from Bontuku, a nearby district capital in Cote d'Ivoire.

Chronicle learnt that from the towns farther inside Cote d'Ivoire, the people are not able to come to Ghana because of the fear of being attacked on the road.

A walk to the border post by this reporter showed a few Ivorian registered vehicles coming to Sampa to purchase goods.

The deputy commander of the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Mr. John Agbosege, disclosed that revenue generated from the Sampa border post is very low compared to other border posts in the region.

This is not because of the conflict at Cote d'Ivoire, but the nature of the road which is in a very deplorable state on both sides of the border, and also because of an order not to allow transit goods to pass through the Sampa border," he said.

At Kwameseikrom, the situation of economic activities is the same, which may be attributed to both the poor nature of the road and the conflict.

At Gonokrom, about 15 Ivorian saloon cars were seen parked and according to our source, the owners parked them there for safety.

The authorities told Chronicle that the conflict had greatly affected the flow of business between the two countries. "Normally, Kumasi people pass to Abidjan through the Gonokrom border to transact business, but because of the disturbances they are not coming," the authorities said.

Meanwhile, the DCE for Jaman, Hon. Johnson Ofori Asuboteng, hinted Chronicle that the assembly had deployed its zonal co-ordinators of NADMO to the border posts of Sampa and Kwamesei-Krom which are in the district to receive and register all returnees and subsequently support them with transport to their destinations. The assembly had set aside ?5 million for the exercise, he said.