STATESMAN ‘TAMES’ NDC

THE Statesman last week predicted a ‘looming war’ by the National Democratic Congress against the New Patriotic Party administration, with an agenda to ‘powder the NPP leadership in drugs’. When we called the NDC General Secretary, Asiedu Nketia, he denied knowledge of any such plot saying, as far as he was aware, “there have never been any such discussions yet”.

Wednesday afternoon, the NDC struck, through its Minority Caucus in Parliament, accusing the ruling government of turning a blind eye to the “cocaine bribery scandals”.

The cocaine bribery scandal involving high-ranking personnel of the Security Services is reaching alarming proportions. The NDC Minority in Parliament have been monitoring the drug menace in the country for some time. It is also our considered opinion that drugs find their way to jurisdictions with either laxed drug laws or one of permissiveness, tolerance or collaboration with domestic Drug Law Enforcement Agencies.

Our views seem confirmed by a number of recent developments.

(i) The ease with which suspects remanded or detained for Drug Offences escape;

(ii) The ease with which such suspects on bail leave the jurisdiction;

(iii) Allegations that security personnel either solicit or receive bribes from Drug Offence suspects to influence investigations.

It is particularly disturbing that in the face of these developments government’s response has been the setting up of a committee to investigate allegations of bribery against security personnel involved in the recent cocaine investigations in camera.

We are of the view that the cocaine bribery scandal is of such public and national importance that the committee’s work ought to be done transparently and in public.

It is also a matter of concern that up to this point neither Parliament nor its Select Committee on Defence and Interior have been briefed on the scandal. Yet on daily basis both the electronic and print media are awash with alarming reportage on the scandal.

To put the current investigations at a high democratic pedestal of transparency we call on the government as matter of urgency to:

[a] Brief Parliament or the Committee on Defence and Interior on the Cocaine Bribery Scandal before Parliament rises on the 28th July, 2006;

[b] Interdict or ask high ranking security personnel against whom allegations have been made to “step-aside” for investigations to continue;

[c] Set-up a bi-partisan Parliamentary Committee to investigate and inquire into the Drug menace in the country.

As a Caucus we will continue to monitor developments on the scandal and would state a detailed position on the matter after we have reviewed information so far available to us.

Signed

Dr Benjamin Kunbour
Ranking Member for Defence and Interior
Minority Spokesperson on Security Matters