The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Permanent Representation in Togo Assesses the Implementation of Ecowas Legislation on Free Movement at the Togo–Benin and Togo–Ghana Borders

Led by H.E. Ms Deweh Emily Gray, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Togo, the mission brought together members of the ECOWAS Permanent Representation in Togo and representatives of the relevant national authorities. It covered the border posts at Tohoun and Kémérida on the Togo–Benin route, as well as Natchamba and Noépé-Akanu on the Togo–Ghana route.

The mission aimed to assess the practical conditions under which Community legislation is implemented, to identify the difficulties encountered by border services and users, and to identify ways of improving cross-border mobility.

At each stage, the delegation held discussions with border service managers and staff, as well as with travellers, hauliers, traders and other users.

The checks focused in particular on travel documents and formalities, the movement of goods, the implementation of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (SLEC), cross-border transport, health requirements, processing times and checkpoints, as well as the use of the ECOWAS Brown Card.

This approach, combining direct observation, discussions with the relevant authorities and feedback from users, enabled the collection of information on current practices, the constraints encountered and opportunities for improvement. The data collected will be subject to a consolidated analysis in order to identify the main difficulties, highlight the good practices observed and formulate operational recommendations.

Through this mission, the ECOWAS Permanent Representation in Togo reaffirms its commitment to supporting the effective implementation of Community legislation and to contributing, in collaboration with the national authorities and relevant stakeholders, to improving the conditions for the movement of people and goods within the Community area.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).