Narcotic control laws to be amended - Okaija

Accra, Feb. 22, GNA - Nii Okaija Adamafio, Minister of the Interior, on Tuesday announced that the Narcotic Drug Control, Enforcement and Sanctions Law will soon be amended to make it more efficient.

He made the announcement at a ceremony to launch the 1999 International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) Report on the global drug situation as at the close of last year.

The 76-page report deals with the operation of the international drug control systems and analyses the world situation, among others things. Nii Okaija noted that despite intensive efforts by the government and its agencies to rid the country of the problems of drug abuse and illicit trafficking, the scourge has rather increased among the youth in recent times.

"The government, therefore, intends to amend the Narcotic Drug Control, Enforcement and Sanctions Law, 1990, (PNDC Law 236) to make it more efficient in operation, and work in this direction is progressing steadily."

Nii Okaija said under the auspices of the United Nations Narcotic Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), a rapid assessment of the drug situation in Ghana has also started, with the view to precisely determine the drug problem.

This is to facilitate easy formulation of medium- and long-term plans to combat the drug problem. Nii Okaija noted that there are increasing media reports on the involvement of security agents in the aggravation of the drug problem and assured the public that the law would be made more stringent to deal severely with such crimes.

He added that the internal disciplinary measures such as loss of job, prosecution and imprisonment would be strictly applied. Nii Okaija said the government would continue to abide by international conventions, which enjoin it to apply strict measures in the fight against the drug problem.

Mr Kofi Bentum Quantson, Executive Chairman of the Narcotics Control Board (NCB), said about 400 narcotic-related cases are currently pending before the law courts, adding that this impedes the effort to bring drug dealers to justice.

"Past experiences also show that the courts do not deal with drug dealers severely enough." He therefore called on the government to reconsider its position on the issue of establishing narcotics tribunals to ensure speedy and severe application of justice.

Mr Quantson said the NCB and the Ministry of Education are working closely together to develop policy guidelines that would ensure that drug education programmes are run twice in every term or semester in all schools.

The board is also working with the Ghana Tourist Board to fashion out modalities and strategies to reduce the inflow of drug traffickers who come into the country as tourists.

Mr Quantson said "these days drug dealers appear as most diplomatic, saintly as pastors, unlike the past when we see them shabbily dressed in dreadlocks." He argued that the attitude of society towards life is a major contributory factor to the aggravation of the drug problem, saying "society tends to ridicule honest and modest people and hail rich criminals, making the former desire to make fast money to win society's respect."

Mr Quantson said last year over 200 billion dollars was identified as money laundered from drug-related crimes around the globe. He appealed to Ghanaians to assist security agents and the NCB with vital information that would lead to the location and arrest of drug dealers.

"Let us see the drug problem as a global one, rather than a puzzle for the government alone to solve." Mr Quantson also appealed to financial, banking and other corporate organisations to readily assist the NCB in its drug control effort, saying that it has been very difficult to get assistance from local profit-making organisations which willingly sponsor other programmes.