Ghana must engage Togo on maritime boundary to avoid another dispute -Yaw Baah

An International Lawyer and former Member of Parliament for Kumawu Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Mr. Yaw Baah has stressed the need for Ghana to be proactive and take steps to delimit its maritime boundary with Togo to avoid another dispute.

“We need to be a bit proactive and make sure that our marine boundaries are protected,” he suggested.

His comment follows the ruling of the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on the maritime boundary dispute between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.

The Special Chamber of ITLOS in a unanimous decision on Saturday September 23, 2017, ruled that there has not been any violation on the part of Ghana on Côte d’Ivoire’s maritime boundary.

It rejected Côte d’Ivoire’s argument that Ghana’s coastal lines were unstable, noting that Ghana has not violated Côte d’Ivoire’s sovereign rights with its oil exploration in the disputed basin.

Justice Boualem Bouguetaia, President of the Special Chamber in reading the judgment, accepted Ghana’s argument of adoption of the equidistance method of delineation of the maritime boundary.

In consideration of the new boundary, the Chamber determined that it starts from boundary 55 -200 nautical miles away, a position much closer to what Ghana was arguing for.

Speaking in an interview with Oman FM, Mr Yaw Baah, who welcomed the ruling of ITLOS, commended Ghana’s legal team led by the Attorney General Mrs Gloria Akuffo for combining their expertise and securing victory for Ghana.

He however, expressed fears about the possibility of Ghana having a similar case with Togo.

“I have the feeling that Togo will like Côte d’Ivoire have a maritime dispute with Ghana. Because if you look at the topography of Togo and Ghana and that of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, there is no difference so one day Togo will also say that their oil resource is flowing to Ghana so they want a share and that will result in a dispute,” he stated.

In the view of Mr. Yaw Baah, Ghana was lucky that Côte d’Ivoire is not like one of the East African countries where militant insurgency is the order of the day else they would have attacked the country’s fields after the ruling of ITLOS.

Mr Yaw Baah who was a member of the Georgina Wood Committee that investigated the missing 77 parcel of cocaine from MV Benjamin noted that Ghana’s marine boarders remained porous.

This he explained has given those who peddle narcotic drugs to take advantage of the situation.

He, thus, called on the Inspector General of Police to ensure that the marine police department of the Ghana Police Service is well resourced to execute their mandate effectively.

Story By: Michael Creg Afful

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