The Member of Parliament for Jomoro Constituency in the Western Region, Dorcas Affo-Toffey, believes the reopening of the Ivorian border in Elubo will bring back the social life that residents along the border lost due to the closure of the borders.
The MP said people around the borders have suffered in the past two years since marriages collapsed and businesses were also lost.
The legislator gave this hope in an interview while commenting on the reopening of the Ivorian side of the Elubo border.
Almost a year after Ghana opened its Elubo border to pave way for Ghanaians to transact businesses with their Ivorian counterparts, Ivory Coast has now opened its border.
The Ivorian borders were closed despite the low reported cases of Covid-19. It is exactly 2 years, 11 months that the border was closed at both sides.
This brought the collapse of businesses and marriages since men were unable to feed their wives and children. Pupils and students also dropped out since their parents were unable to pay their fees.
Hardship was the order of the day as, according to the MP, business men and women who were doing serious businesses started begging for money.
But on the midnight of Wednesday, February 15, 2023, the Ivorian authorities performed an opening ceremony to welcome Ghanaians and Ivorians to and from Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Commenting on the development, Madam Affo-Toffey expressed gratitude to both Ghanaian and Ivorian governments for considering the plight of traders in both countries and thereby reopening the border.
She said she was happy because the once vibrant Elubo, which went ‘dead’, will now bounce back because businesses are going to resurrect.
“I am really happy because we are tired. My people are tired and I am tired because I have championed the reopening for a long time and I thank President Akufo-Addo that at long last, the government negotiations with the Ivorian counterpart has been fruitful and the border has been opened,” Madam Affo-Toffey said in Twi.
She added that “it’s been long overdue because just last week, I spoke about it in an interview urging the the President to do all he can to get the border opened and so we thank God for that”.
She explained that “it has not been easy for those border towns because Elubo was a vibrant town but people resorted to begging due to the closure”.
Madam Affo-Toffey urged the traders to go back to their businesses because she is optimistic that soon, marriages and businesses that collapsed would be rekindled.