The decision to reconstruct the new pillars was a result of their weak nature that had led to their removal by natural activities such as erosion and farming.

Also, due to the lack of a well demarcat­ed international land boundaries, foreigners from neighbouring countries stray into Ghana without notice.

“All our boundaries are demarcated. However, we have a few challenges. These challenges have to do with the type of pillars that have been constructed along our land boundaries. Most of the pillars are very weak, and some of them have been removed as a result of natural activities,” the Commissioner General of the Ghana Boundary Commission, Major General Emmanuel Wekem Kotia, said.

“What we have done is that we have decided with our neighbours to start what we call the reaffirmation exercise. The reaf­firmation means that we are confirming our land boundaries, and as a result of that, we are even increasing the number of bound­aries along the international boundaries.

Apart from the main pillars, we are introducing intermediary pillars, which are within the main pillars and probably a distance of 500m apart,” he added.

Major General Kotia disclosed this when the Ghana Boundary Commission paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Local Gov­ernment, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, in Accra on Friday.

He said that the reaffirmation exercise was being sponsored by the German government with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) as the implanting partner.

Apart from the construction of the intermediary pillars, the Ghana Boundary Commission, Major General Kotia said, had initiated some social intervention programmes such as the construction of health centres to support deprived commu­nities along the country’s boundaries.

He said that it was important for the country to develop initiatives to encourage local economic development, especially for communities along her boundaries, and therefore pledged the Boundary Commis­sion’s support to the government in that regard.

Also, he appealed to the ministry to include the Boundary Commission in work­shops organised for district assemblies to enable the Commission brief District Chief Executives on its mandate.

Additionally, Major General Kotia prom­ised to collaborate with the Ministry and all other stakeholders in the protection and management of land boundaries along the country.

In his remarks, Mr Ibrahim assured Ma­jor General Kotia that the concerns raised were well noted, and the necessary mea­sures  would be taken to address them.

He also noted that the government recognised the challenges that the lack of clarity on the country’s internal boundar­ies had created, which sometimes affects revenue mobilisation at the local level and constituency creation.

Mr Ibrahim said the government would support the Boundary Commission finan­cially to enable it to carry out its mandate effectively and reduce the Commission’s reliance on international organisations for funding.