Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Kofi Amankwa-Manu, has dismissed claims that Ghana’s current cocaine trafficking problem is linked to the removal of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) from the country’s list of Port Inspection Agencies in 2018.

He described the argument as “absurd”, insisting that Ghana’s recent drug-related challenges point to broader security gaps that require urgent attention.

His comments follow remarks by GoldBod Chief Executive Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, that the removal of NACOC from the list of Port Inspection Agencies in June 2018 weakened Ghana’s capacity to detect and prevent drug trafficking through its ports.

Mr Gyamfi argued that the decision undermined NACOC’s port inspection role despite the Commission’s mandate to monitor, regulate and enforce laws relating to narcotics trafficking.

But speaking on Joy FM’s Newsnight, Mr Amankwa-Manu rejected the attempt to link the current situation to the 2018 decision.

“Within 18 months, we have this situation, and then we are saying that because NACOC was taken from the ports in 2018, that is why we have this problem? For me, that is absurd. It is absurd, and we cannot go that angle,” he said.

He said the concerns raised by the Interior Minister about elements operating in Ghana, and intelligence agencies’ reluctance to share information with the country, indicate more serious security challenges that must be addressed.

“If your Interior Minister, who has oversight responsibility, tells you that we have elements in this country who are behind this, that there is a problem. If your Interior Minister, who has oversight responsibility, tells you that even intelligence agencies do not trust Ghana to the extent of refusing to share intelligence, then there is a problem,” he said.

Mr Amankwa-Manu maintained that the focus should be on identifying and closing the security gaps rather than on assigning blame for a decision made years ago.

He further argued that Parliament can address the concerns through a bipartisan approach, stressing that national security should take precedence over partisan considerations.

“It is Ghana we are building. We are not building NDC. We are not building NPP. We are building Ghana,” he said.

Mr Amankwa-Manu said the same bipartisan approach is adopted when the Defence and Interior Committee considers security matters and questioned why Parliament could not apply it to the current cocaine-related concerns.