GoldBod CEO Sammy Gyamfi has welcomed President John Dramani Mahama’s directive to restore the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) to Ghana’s list of Port Inspection Agencies.
The directive follows a recent drug bust in another jurisdiction involving narcotics reportedly traced to one of Ghana’s ports.
In a Facebook post, Mr Gyamfi said the incident raised concerns about the effectiveness of monitoring and inspection systems at the country’s ports.
He noted that NACOC, the institution mandated to monitor, regulate, enforce and control narcotics trafficking in Ghana, was removed from the list of Port Inspection Agencies in June 2018.
According to him, the decision weakened NACOC’s ability to conduct inspections at the country’s ports and detect attempts to traffic narcotics through Ghana’s entry and exit points.
“While it is unclear what may have informed that decision in 2018, it is evident that the said decision weakened NACOC’s port inspection function,” he said.
Mr Gyamfi said he was therefore encouraged by President Mahama’s decision to restore NACOC to the list of Port Inspection Agencies with immediate effect.
He said the President had also directed that NACOC be granted access to all entry and exit points, including ports by air, land and sea.
Mr Gyamfi, who said he had worked closely with the NACOC led by Major General Maxwell Obuba Mantey in the fight against gold smuggling, expressed confidence in the Commission’s ability to help strengthen efforts against drug trafficking.
He further disclosed that the President had directed for scanners and personnel at the country’s ports to be changed with immediate effect.
Mr Gyamfi said the measures, if effectively implemented, could strengthen checks and controls at Ghana’s ports and help prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.
Ghana|Atinkaonline.com|Mavis Fantevi
