Explainer: Is Ghana now officially the 'Cocaine Coast'?

Dr. John Osae-Kwapong, a fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has urged both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Ghana not to focus on blaming successive governments for the recent cocaine seizure. Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on September 26, he emphasized that the country’s international reputation should be the priority.

Dr. Osae-Kwapong argued that dwelling on which political party or administration is responsible could divert attention from the more critical issues that need to be addressed. He stressed that finding a bipartisan consensus to protect Ghana’s image should be the focus. The seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at the port of Dunkirk by French customs has raised questions about the country’s export controls and national security.

While the Minority in Parliament has called for a parliamentary probe into the cocaine busts citing national security concerns, Dr. Osae-Kwapong expressed doubts about whether another inquiry would yield meaningful results. He noted that previous investigations have often ended with no significant outcomes, and this could lead to a lack of progress.

He suggested that instead, the priority should be identifying the real weaknesses exposed by the recent seizure and developing measures to safeguard Ghana’s reputation and prevent similar incidents from happening again.