‘Slipping through Ghana’s closed land borders’ – a report by Citi News‘ Fred Duhoe has won him the first prize at the Reporting Migration competition in West and Central Africa.
The report highlighted the struggles traders, residents of border communities and migrants go through using unauthorized routes through Ghana’s eastern border-Aflao border into Togo.
Fred Duhoe received the first prize in the Radio and Television category alongside Justice Baidoo of Joy News and George Appiah as the three finalists.
Duhoe received a cheque of $1,000, a plaque and a certificate.
The Reporting Migration competition was organized by the International Organization for Migration- IOM branch under the United Nations in partnership with the European Union in Ghana on Friday, August 12, 2022, at the Lancaster Hotel in Accra.
In the online and print category, Jamila Akweley Okertchiri a reporter with Daily Guide, Jonathan Donkor with Ghanaian Times Corporation and Zadok Kwame Gyesi with Graphic won first, second and third awards respectively.
In her address, Ms. Pooja Bhalla, Project Manager, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Ghana, noted with certainty that, the media play a key role in checking irregular migration hence, an occasion to honour outstanding journalists was in order.
The award-winning report was filed at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic where Fred Duhoe assessed the land borders’ preparedness to combat any inflow of migrants in both Ghana and Togo despite the border closure as declared by presidents of both countries.
The investigative report by Fred Duhoe established that, the border closure caused the duplicity of illegal checkpoints mounted by plain-clothes men extorting money from migrants and traders under the supervision of some security personnel.
On the Togo side, military men on guard looked on for the illegal act to fester while in Ghana, some customs officials were seen on camera sitting about 10 meters from the illegal checkpoint.
The illegal checkpoints allowed desperate migrants access through unapproved routes and along the beaches when they pay GH¢10 (Almost $1) in today’s prevailing exchange rate.
The market women were allowed to smuggle goods across the border from Togo into Ghana without paying the required taxes.
All migrants threw Covid-19 protocols to the wind despite restrictions.
About six months after the report, the International Organization for Migration and the European Union in Ghana partnered to award journalists who carried out migration-related reports in order to encourage enthusiasm and attention to the subject of irregular migration across the globe but more specifically in the West Africa sub-region.
