The Minority in Parliament is demanding the immediate suspension of Ghana’s maritime shipping and port cooperation agreement with Colombia, citing fresh national security concerns over cocaine trafficking.

The demand comes amid renewed scrutiny of Ghana’s role in international drug trafficking and follows the Minority’s recent push for Parliament to investigate major narcotics seizures linked to the country.

In a statement signed by the Ranking Member of Parliament for the Foreign Affairs Committee and Damongo MP, Samuel A. Jinapor, the Minority said the developing bilateral relationship with Colombia required urgent security attention.

The agreement is part of a broader relationship between the two countries. Earlier this year, Ghana and Colombia entered into a mutual visa-waiver arrangement and concluded a maritime trade agreement linking the Port of Tema to the Port of Cartagena.

The Minority argues that the arrangements require closer scrutiny because Colombia is identified in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s 2026 World Drug Report as the world’s leading departure country for cocaine shipments, with most of the trafficking conducted by sea.

It also cited a JoyNews report which said Belgian authorities ranked Ghana as the fifth-largest country of origin for cocaine seized at the Port of Antwerp.

The Minority said the combination of Ghana’s growing links with Colombia and recent large-scale cocaine seizures had created a national security concern that could not be ignored.

“At a time when multi-tonne consignments of cocaine linked to Ghana are repeatedly being intercepted, both within the country and abroad, and when the world’s principal cocaine departure country has established a visa-waiver and maritime connectivity arrangement with Ghana, prudence and good governance demand a comprehensive national-security assessment of that arrangement before it is permitted to remain in operation.”

The latest demand follows the Minority’s earlier attempt to recall Parliament over what it described as urgent national security concerns arising from major narcotics seizures linked to Ghana. The caucus said the seizures raised questions about Ghana’s ports, borders, customs controls and anti-narcotics systems.  

Parliament was recalled on September 29, but Speaker Alban Bagbin ruled the Minority’s proposed motion for a parliamentary inquiry inadmissible, citing ongoing investigations and judicial proceedings.  

The Minority has nevertheless maintained pressure for accountability as concerns grow over Ghana’s alleged emergence as a route for international drug trafficking.

In its latest statement, the caucus is asking the government to suspend the Ghana-Colombia visa-waiver arrangement and the maritime and port cooperation arrangements, and to submit the entire framework to a comprehensive security review before Parliament.

The Minority warned that Ghana’s ports must serve legitimate commerce rather than facilitate criminal networks.

“Our ports must remain gateways for legitimate trade, and not conduits for international criminal networks.”