The Drug Menace, Ghana Sits On Time bomb

THE HEAD of Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution Department (CPMRD) at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Dr. Kwesi Aning, says Ghana is sitting on a time bomb. He said this in regard to the increasing spate of drug menace in the country. He wondered why government officials are not prepared to face the fact and adopt methods to reverse the situation. “We need to call a spade a spade. The nation is actually in a deep crisis and people are afraid to speak about it,” he said. Dr. Aning made this observation when he delivered a key note address on Monday, at the official inauguration of the Ghana Penal and Justice System Observatory (GHAPEJUSO) in Accra. For him, cases of drugs, crime, arm-robbery and others are just the litany of unintended consequences.

He therefore called for a concerted effort to clamp down on the menace. According to him, his concern about the use of Ghana as a transit point for drugs was not about the use of flashy cars by some members of the public but how this tarnishes the image of Ghana as a country. Dr. Aning contended among others that the fear factor that has gripped many officials who are fighting against some of these vices must be condemned. He cited the case of the late Chief Justice, Justice Kingsley Acquah, who reportedly told him that his life was in danger because he was fighting against corruption in the judiciary. Despite the shortcomings of the security agencies in curbing the menace, he noted that the judiciary has in no small way thwarted the zeal and ability of the security agencies to combat this particular type of crime. Dr. Aning said “it became apparent that particular judges give particular judgements in drug cases that are beginning to show a pattern. While previously, this was explained as due to the technicalities of the law, it is now clear that judgements by some members of the judiciary are more than suspicious, especially in cases where judges grant bail to drug traffickers with sureties which are far less than the value of the drugs seized.”

He expressed the belief that the people engaged in the drug business in Ghana have the capacity to corrupt and infiltrate the ranks of government and influence the outcome of the criminal justice and political processes. Dr. Aning expressed misgivings about the continuous silence of government on the position of the police on the Kojo Armah’s Committee report on the disappearance of some 42 slabs of cocaine at the headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at the Police headquarters. He also condemned the manner in which standing orders were handled in Parliament when issues concerning Mr. Eric Amoateng came before it. He also mentioned the activities of land guards, chieftaincy disputes, land litigations, the concentration of youth unemployment, ethnic tension as being contributory factors to the heightening tension in the country.

To combat drug trafficking, he stressed the need to establish proper institutional frameworks with equipment, qualified personnel and resources. This, he said, demands political will, public education, support from the judiciary, politicians and the security agencies. On his part, the General Secretary of GHAPEJUSO, Mr. Edward Mensah Kpodonu, said the biggest problem facing this nation was the failure to peacefully acknowledge our defects with humility of criticisms of any sort. According to him, most people even considered criticisms as a taboo. “Corruption has become a way of life, abuse of authority and position is now a menace, robbery with violence resulting in the loss of precious lives continue to plague our society more seriously than ever before”, he noted.

For him, the masses have become stakeholders in the creation of a perpetually anomic society where peace and security could no longer be guaranteed. He gave an overview of the inauguration of the executive members of the GHAPEJUSO and its roles in helping to improve upon the infringement on human rights. Former Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice V.C.A Crabbe Chaired the occasion.