Former Director-General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Sammi Awuku, has questioned the absence of key sector ministers from a high-level meeting convened by President John Dramani Mahama to address concerns over Ghana’s growing role as a transit point for illicit drugs.
In a Facebook post, Mr Awuku raised concerns about the participation of heads of key state institutions at the meeting without the ministers directly responsible for supervising those institutions.
He specifically questioned why the heads of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Ghana Shippers Authority and Ghana Airports Company Limited—all under the Ministry of Transport—would attend such a crucial meeting without the Minister for Transport.
Mr Awuku also pointed to the participation of the Ghana Police Service and the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), which fall under the Ministry of the Interior, without the Interior Minister being present.
According to him, the seriousness of Ghana’s drug trafficking challenges requires more than what he described as an “optics exercise.”
He questioned how decisions reached at the meeting would be supervised and implemented when the ministers with direct responsibility for the institutions involved were not part of the discussions.
“After this meeting, who exactly is expected to supervise and drive the implementation of the decisions reached?” he asked.
Concerns Over Coordination
Mr Awuku further warned that the approach could create another layer of coordination rather than strengthening the ministries and existing state structures already mandated to deal with illicit drug trafficking.
He urged President Mahama to attach greater urgency to the matter, stressing the importance of clear responsibility, accountability and effective coordination in the fight against drug trafficking.
“Mr. President, respectfully, please let us take this matter seriously for a moment,” he said.
He concluded his post with the expression, “Y’abrɛ ooo.”
