The Majority in Parliament has rejected accusations by the main opposition National Patriotic Party (NPP) that recent drug seizures in France, Australia and South Africa involving consignments linked to Ghana had turned the country into a “cocaine coast.”
Addressing the media in his first public engagement since his elevation as Majority Leader, the Builsa North Member of Parliament (MP), James Agalga, mounted a robust defence of the John Dramani Mahama administration’s record on narcotics control, insisting the government has moved decisively to strengthen the country’s previously under-resourced fight against drug trafficking.
Agalga argued that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has done more to confront the menace than the previous administration.
He pointed to concrete institutional upgrades, saying the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) had been operating with fewer than 1,500 personnel nationwide before the current government took office.
“The public must come to a hard realization that before this administration, the entire Narcotics Control Commission, which is responsible for securing a nation of over 30 million people, a long coastline, two major seaports, an international airport and porous land borders, had less than 1,500 personnel throughout the country,” Agalga stated.
“It is not a national narcotics agency; it’s a skeletal crew called on to do a national mission. With these numbers, no meaningful Narco presence was found in any districts of this country, leaving whole communities vulnerable and unprotected.”
He said the Mahama government recognised that Ghana’s narcotics control system could no longer “operate on borrowed capacity and institutional afterthought.”
Since March 2025, he noted, the administration has pursued continuous investment, reform and expansion to restore NACOC’s capacity. The agency’s staff strength has been enhanced and it is now better equipped, according to the Majority Leader.
Agalga also highlighted the establishment of a dedicated court for the trial of narcotics offences as further evidence of the government’s commitment.
He called on relevant institutions to deepen collaboration in the fight against drug trafficking.
The remarks come amid heightened public and political scrutiny following a series of international seizures of cocaine and other narcotics traced to cargoes originating from or transiting through Ghana.
The opposition has used the incidents to criticise the government’s handling of border security and port controls.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
