Interior Minister calls for risk-based, intelligence-led border management across Africa

Minister for the Interior, Hon. Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has called on African countries to adopt risk-based, intelligence-led border management systems to support trade, protect citizens, and accelerate the continent’s economic integration agenda under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Speaking at day two of the 2026 Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Thursday, 5th February, 2026, the Minister said Africa’s ambition of transforming borders from barriers into bridges must be matched with stronger security coordination and smarter governance.

“We meet at a time when the promise of the AfCFTA must move decisively from policy to practice… and from borders as barriers to borders as bridges for shared prosperity,” he stated.

Muntaka Mubarak dismissed the notion that security and free movement are competing goals, insisting that integration cannot succeed without safety.

“Without security, trade cannot flourish, and without orderly mobility, integration cannot succeed,” he said.

He stressed that Africa’s SMEs, particularly those led by women and young people, remain the backbone of cross-border commerce, yet continue to face delays, harassment, unclear procedures, and fragmented enforcement at border posts.

“These frictions raise costs, weaken competitiveness, and undermine the very objective of AfCFTA,” he noted.

The Interior Minister highlighted the vulnerability of Africa’s borders, using Ghana as an example.

“In Ghana, we have 48 legitimate crossing points, yet there are over 250 unapproved crossing points,” he revealed.

He linked weak border controls to transnational threats such as trafficking, terrorism, narcotics trade, and cybercrime, urging countries to manage mobility without exposing economies to illicit flows.

Muntaka Mubarak proposed a shift from blanket border controls to targeted interventions driven by data and shared intelligence.

“The answer lies in risk-based, intelligence-led border management,” he said, explaining that systems using analytics, joint patrols, and real-time information exchange can facilitate legitimate trade while intercepting threats.

By: Bawa Musah

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