My dream is to see Accra-Ouaga rail line — Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says one of the highlights of his presidency is to work with Burkina Faso to begin the Accra-Ouagadougou railway project.

He said his commitment to the international railway project was evidenced by the fact that right at the beginning of his government, he established a special Ministry of Railways Development in Ghana.

He was speaking at a state dinner organised in his honour by President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré of Burkina Faso as part of his two-day visit to Burkina Faso.

 “I would be very disappointed if the two sides are unable to find a solution to how we can get the Accra-Ouagadougou railway going,” President Akufo-Addo said.

 The President was in Ouagadougou last Thursday for a two-day official visit to Burkina Faso as part of a tour of that country, with his agenda being “to develop the initiatives that will bring prosperity to our people’’.

 “It would be, for me, perhaps, the highlight of my presidency if, indeed, I was able, together with you (President Kaboré), to launch the beginning of the Accra-Ouagadougou railway project.”

Prior to the issuing of the communiqué, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore decorated President Akufo-Addo with the highest national award of Burkina Faso, the Grand Croix de l’Ordre National.

President Akufo-Addo stated that the other concern of the government was about the control of the water resources in Ghana and Burkina Faso, adding that those were matters that he and his Burkinabe counterpart would have to address.

The President made reference to the yearly opening of the Bagre Dam spillway, which caused flooding in the three regions of the north, usually resulting in the destruction of lives, farmlands, livestock, and property.

For that reason, the President said, his delegation included the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Mr Kofi Adda, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, and the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto,  so that with their Burkinabe counterparts, they could find a solution to that phenomenon by channelling the water spilled from the dam into productive ventures for the mutual benefit of the two countries. 

Africa must stand together

President Akufo-Addo said the new crop of African leaders had come into office at a critical time in the lives of the Africans, where old alliances were having to be reshaped, implying that Africa had to look for new sources and new areas of committing resources to the development of the continent.

“The most important thing is to recognise the need for us to stand on our own two feet and resolve African problems with African resources and African personnel. We cannot and will not accept that other people can come and develop the continent of Africa for us. It will not happen, and the sooner all of us work together and recognise the necessity of collaborating on a platform that will lead to the prosperity of our peoples, the better,” he added.

Touching on the fight against terrorism, President Akufo-Addo assured President Kaboré that “in Nana Akufo-Addo and in his government, the people of Burkina Faso have a strong and steadfast friend.” 

He expressed the appreciation of the peoples of West Africa for “the sacrifices the Burkinabe people, who are in the frontline of the fight against terrorism, are making to guarantee the peace and security not just of their own country, but the region as a whole.”

To that end, he reiterated Ghana’s commitment to “stand beside you in that fight and want you to know that whatever, within our modest means, we can do to promote the success of that struggle, you can count on us.”  

With relations between the peoples of Ghana and Burkina Faso dating back to several centuries, President Akufo-Addo stressed that “even though there has been a change in direction and leadership in Ghana, our fundamental commitment to a close and sustain relationship with the people of the Republic of Burkina Faso remains unchanged. Ghana continues to be by your side and continues to seek a relationship of intimacy and friendship.” 

Communique

Meanwhile, Ghana and Burkina Faso have pledged to work towards strengthening the ties of co-operation that exist between them.

In a joint communiqué issued at the end of the two-day official visit to Burkina Faso by President Akufo-Addo, the two leaders resolved that the two countries reinforce their co-operation in the areas of railway transport, road transport, agriculture, water, security, trade, works and housing and energy.

To realise an increase in the movement of goods and persons,and the corresponding economic and commercial benefits along the rail corridor of Ghana and Burkina Faso, both sides reaffirmed the crucial need to rapidly establish the railway interconnection project. 

To that end, the two countries agreed to reactivate the Joint Expert Committee to examine the various feasibility studies already undertaken, and define the modalities and conditions of the selection of a technical and financial partner for the project.

Agriculture

On agriculture, the two leaders agreed to put measures in place to stop the illegal movement of agro-chemicals from Ghana into Burkina Faso.

They also agreed to formalise government-to-government trade in cereals from Ghana and vegetables from Burkina Faso.

With the annual opening of the spillways of the Bagre dam destroying lives, farmlands, livestock and property in Ghana, President Akufo-Addo and President Kabore also agreed to extend cooperation in the utilisation of the excess water from the dam for irrigation purposes in the two countries.

The decision to reactivate the Joint Technical Committee on Integrated Water Resource Management (JTC-IWRM) to oversee and manage the annual spillage, so as to reduce the perennial flooding downstream was also taken.

Exchange of information

Touching on the issues of security, the two leaders agreed that a framework to exchange and share information in tackling terrorism, violent robberies and organised crime be established.

The activities of trans-humans from Burkina Faso into Ghana were identified as a security concern, and in that regard, both countries decided to hold frequent consultations to address this issue.

“To efficiently address the issue of illegal activities at the borders, notably corruption and racketeering, both sides agreed to hold regular meetings in order to put an end to these practices,” the communiqué said.

They further agreed to collaborate, with the support of ECOWAS, to establish a joint border post to facilitate trade and free movement of their peoples, goods and services.

Free trade

The two leaders also decided to work together in support of the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) under the auspices of the Africa Union (AU).”

The Ghanaian government also agreed to collaborate and learn from the best practices of the Burkinabe Bank for Housing to enable the reactivation of the Bank for Housing and Construction in Ghana.

In the area of energy, Ghana and Burkina Faso “decided to cooperate further to ensure the completion of the Ouagadougou-Bolgatanga Power Interconnection Supply project, to enable the importation of 85 megawatts into Burkina Faso by the close of 2017. Both sides also commended the completion of the Bolgatanga – Bingo Pipeline Project.”

President Akufo-Addo receives the highest national award of Burkina Faso