The Minister of the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has expressed worry about the country's borders, especially the Ghana-Togo border along the Volta Region.

He. therefore, called for greater collaboration among security agencies along the country's porous borders to combat illegal migration and smuggling.

According to him, the influx of foreigners from across the African continent into the country poses security threats, as illegal migrants are involved in criminal activities and other vices.

He made this known during his two-day visit to the Volta Region, when he toured the Ghana-Togo border in Aflao.

He indicated that the Volta Region reportedly has about 102 unofficial routes along Ghana’s southeastern borders with Togo, and lamented the high number of unapproved routes in the area.

He explained that the Ghana-Togo border has therefore become a crossing point for illegal migrants due to its porous nature.

He assured that steps would be taken to address these issues, including improvements to lighting, to safeguard the Ghana-Togo border against illegal migrants and smuggling.

“I know, as part of the program that, the Immigration Commander was telling me. Sometimes when the light goes off, the passes fall. And you cannot tell people that they come across until the light comes back. So, sometimes you miss the opportunity, to capture the records.”

“This is a serious concern, and I assure you that working even if it means we have to work with the Ministry of Energy, to provide solar, just to protect that system, we may have to do that, and I think that's something that needs to be done urgently to avoid a situation where the system goes off and the people cross without them being checked”, he explained.

He also urged security agencies to strengthen their cooperation to overcome the identified challenges and to better protect the country’s borders.

“And we pray that you want to collaborate very effectively. I can see customs, I can see all the others here. Everybody is here and you are working together.”

“We'll urge you to continue to collaborate. It is through this collaboration that you'll be able to safeguard the border community, the border itself, and those who are coming in and those who are going out.

The Aflao Sector Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Immigration, Mark Asamoah Boakey, assured that his team will continue to do its best to police the borders, despite some logistical challenges.

“If you've created a part, then we are sending our men there. That is why we find a lot of unapproved routes, but our men are manning all these unapproved routes. Definitely, believably, you know that we cannot cover everything.

“There are to understand what they use, sometimes at night, and they will not see. Definitely during the day here, nothing happens. But we've deployed our intel on the ground, and we are doing our best, even with the limited resources that we have.”, he said.

The Minister of the Interior also met with a section of security officers, where he assured them of improved conditions of service, among other things.