Neighbouring country, Togo has officially opened its land borders with Ghana.

This comes close to three months after Ghana reopened its land borders to neighbouring countries.

The metal gates which were closed between the two countries for two years in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic were swung open at about 8:30am Tuesday, May 17, 2022.

Graphic Online, however, observed that both sides of the frontier remained desolate with little human movement and commercial activities across the border.

“Today is the first day, and some people in Lome and Aflao have not yet heard about the reopening,” said a senior Togolese immigration officer.

Similarly, on the Ghana side, Assistant Commissioner of Immigration (ACI) in-charge of the Aflao Sector of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) said the number of human and vehicular traffic across the border would definitely increase in subsequent days.

He noted that personnel of the Aflao Sector GIS are ready for any upsurge in the number of travellers across the border.

So far, he said no untoward incident occurred along the border.

Graphic Online reported that some heavy-duty vehicles were using the ECOWAS Border Post at Akanu, near Dzodze, some 50 kilometres from Aflao, and that it contributed largely to the low volume of traffic at the Aflao Border Post.

Later in the day, a few hawkers turned up at the border post, in the hope of doing brisk business.

As of 1:30pm, 65 Ghanaians and 16 nationals of other ECOWAS countries had entered Lome from Aflao; while about a 100 people left Lome for Aflao.

Most Ghanaians used their Ghana Cards or passports to cross the border smoothly.

The NDC MP for Ketu South, Abla Dzifa Gomashie was among those who turned up early at the border post to see things at first-hand.

In an interview, she expressed gratitude to the leaders of the two countries for listening to cries of their people.

“And in Ketu South, we hope this will restore our livelihoods which invariably is cross-border commerce,” said Ms. Gomashie.

The lawmaker entreated people crossing the border to hold valid identities and proof of vaccination against COVID-19, and also be law-abiding in the area all the time.

Meanwhile, at the Kpoglu-Segbe Border Post, nine Ghanaians had crossed into Togo while four of their compatriots crossed from Togo into Ghana as of 11:06am.

The border post was very quiet when Graphic Online visited there.