By – Sadat Dabo

The National Coordinators of the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) Project in Ghana and Togo have called for stronger cross-border cooperation, community engagement and information-sharing to address security threats and development challenges confronting communities along their shared borders

Ghana’s National SOCO Project Coordinator, Elizabeth Ohenewah Agyei, and her Togolese counterpart, Dametougle Totetiebe, made the call during a Ghana–Togo cross-border exchange programme in Nalerigu, the North East Regional capital, on Tuesday, October 27, 2026

The four-day exchange, running from October 27 to Friday, October 30, brings together project teams from the two countries to share experiences, identify common challenges and explore practical solutions to insecurity, social fragility and development gaps in border communities

Agyei calls for coordinated action against border threats

Elizabeth Ohenewah Agyei said the SOCO Project was designed to address shared challenges across the northern regions of Ghana, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire and Benin through coordinated regional efforts

She explained that communities along the borders face similar difficulties, including limited access to basic social services, economic opportunities and growing security concerns linked to instability in the Sahelian region

According to her, the close ties among border communities make cooperation essential, as residents on both sides share family connections, farmlands, social relationships and other resources

She said the exchange would enable Ghanaian and Togolese teams to assess the similarities and differences in their experiences and identify practical interventions to prevent the spillover of conflict into vulnerable communities

“We want to make it more practical on the ground this time, so that we are not speaking only at the high tables, but at the community level, we are picking up the real issues and then discussing them and pushing them for a real solution,” she said

Madam Agyei added that the collaboration would extend beyond infrastructure development to include local economic development, youth engagement and social cohesion

She cited an earlier exchange with Côte d’Ivoire in September 2025, which she said had generated further collaborative activities, including discussions on shared infrastructure and engagement with boundary and other relevant agencies

Ghana SOCO funding challenges resolved

Addressing concerns about the temporary interruption in funding for some SOCO subprojects, Madam Agyei disclosed that the challenge had been resolved, with the Ministry of Finance releasing funds to facilitate the completion of ongoing projects

She said contractors and project teams had begun mobilising to return to sites, adding that efforts were also underway to establish whether the programme would enter a third cycle

“We have the Ministry of Finance actually releasing most of the funding that is required, especially to make sure that these projects are completed,” she stated

She added that there were strong assurances regarding a possible third cycle of the project, although further confirmation would be required

Togo coordinator highlights intelligence-sharing against extremists

For his part, Togo’s National SOCO Project Coordinator, Dametougle Totetiebe, said the exchange offered an opportunity for both countries to document lessons learned from nearly four years of implementation and strengthen cooperation in addressing emerging challenges

He explained that collaboration among Ghana, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire and Benin was built into the project’s third component, which provides a platform for cooperation among the participating countries

Mr. Totetiebe said the two countries needed to learn from each other’s experiences and replicate successful approaches to strengthen institutions and communities

“We are the same community, we have the same history, and we are one as a people. So we have to work together to be able to develop our countries,” he said

He warned that violent extremists could exploit development gaps and public dissatisfaction to gain acceptance in vulnerable communities by promising to provide basic amenities such as boreholes, schools and roads

According to him, stronger community engagement and improved information-sharing between border communities and security authorities could help prevent extremists from exploiting these vulnerabilities

He explained that timely information about suspicious movements across the Ghana–Togo border could enable authorities in the affected country to prepare and respond appropriately

Mr. Totetiebe said such cooperation was important because border communities had previously been vulnerable to people facilitating the movement of extremists into local settlements

He expressed confidence that the SOCO Project’s community-centred approach could help strengthen trust, improve cooperation and reduce the opportunities available to extremist groups

Community-level cooperation at the centre of the exchange

The Ghana–Togo exchange is expected to include visits to communities on both sides of the border to identify shared development needs, assess existing interventions and discuss areas for joint action

The engagement is also intended to move cooperation beyond high-level meetings towards practical, community-driven solutions that respond to the everyday challenges faced by border residents

Both coordinators stressed that sustainable security and development would require governments, institutions and communities to work together, particularly in areas exposed to cross-border threats

The SOCO Project is a regional initiative implemented in Ghana, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire and Benin, with interventions focused on social services, local economic development, institutional strengthening and social cohesion in vulnerable northern communities

The exchange is expected to strengthen collaboration between Ghana and Togo as both countries seek to build more resilient border communities and address common security and development concerns

Source – gbcuraonline.com