Security analyst Andrews Asiedu Tetteh has called on the government to immediately ban the movement of tomato traders from Ghana to Burkina Faso. This recommendation follows a recent terrorist attack targeting traders in the region.
While Mr Tetteh described the incident as “unfortunate”, he noted that the attack on Ghanaian traders in the neighbouring country was not surprising and, given the current climate, was bound to happen.
He emphasised that Burkina Faso remains highly unstable due to the persistent activities of terrorists and armed bandits.
Andrews Asiedu Tetteh criticised the government’s handling of citizen safety, suggesting that if security were a top priority, preventive measures would have been implemented sooner.
“If [the] government was serious about the security and safety of its citizens, it would have prevented the traders from travelling to Burkina Faso to trade—or if there was the need for them to do that, they would have been provided with a security escort.”
Speaking in an interview on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he compared the situation to how other nations protect their people:
“If American citizens were the ones affected in Burkina Faso, they would have deployed an evacuation team to evacuate them and send them back home because security is of planned importance to them. But in Ghana, we don’t prioritise these things and wait until the worst has happened.”
He also highlighted that domestic instability contributes to the risk, reiterating that the unresolved Bawku crisis continues to serve as a potential breeding ground for terrorist activity. He urged security agencies to be more proactive to avoid future regrets.
To address the immediate crisis, Tetteh maintained that the government has two logical paths forward. First, it must pursue alternative sourcing by preventing traders from entering Burkina Faso and redirecting them to safer markets.
Alternatively, the government must make an immediate and significant investment in domestic tomato farming to ensure that local production is robust enough to meet national demand.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
