Accra, May 18, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday announced government's willingness to partner the United States of America to fight against the menace of narcotic drugs in the West African sub-region. He said: "America is more resourceful in terms of technology and partnering them will be useful to fight the high incidence of drugs and general crime."

Vice President Mahama announced this when a U.S delegation led by Mr William Brownfield, Assistant Secretary of Bureau of International Narcotics and law Enforcement Affairs called on him at the Castle, Osu. The delegation was in the country to foster closer relations between the two countries and to hold discussions on more useful and effective ways of fighting and controlling the use and peddling of drugs. Vice President Mahama said the current crime wave that was arising as a result of technology and internet facilities, needed effective partnerships and cooperation to combat the menace. He said: "Government will make sure that we fulfil our part of the cooperation to fight organised crime that was scaling up on daily basis."

Vice President Mahama suggested that the partnership should take a cursory look at the levels of investigations and prosecutions, which had over the years been too slow and not met the expectations of groups and individuals engaged in the procedures. The Vice President called for the institution of measures to combat trans-national crime due to the complex measures various criminals were adopting to outwit the security agencies. Mr Brownfield said Ghana occupied a strategic position in the West African sub-region and could be influential in the reduction of the infiltration of drugs in the region. He said that "It is not Ghana that is engaged in the menace, but her position she occupies makes her an unavoidable country in the fight against crime."

Mr Brownfield said more than 20 years now, the drug menace in the Northern and southern American countries had links with Africa and Asia. He said fighting the menace without including the two continents would not yield useful dividends for participating continents. Dr Benjamin Kumbour, Minister of Interior, gave the delegation the assurance that their discussions would pave the way for more effective measures to supplement government's efforts at fighting the incidence of drugs.