Politicisation could undermine parliamentary probe into cocaine seizures – Dr Osae-Kwapong

Dr John Osae-Kwapong, a fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has expressed skepticism about a parliamentary inquiry into a recent cocaine seizure related to Ghana producing meaningful results. In an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile, he questioned whether Members of Parliament (MPs) could examine the case impartially when it had already become a political issue between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Osae-Kwapong argued that the partisan nature of the issue might make it difficult for MPs to approach the matter with genuine concern as a national issue. He noted that while Parliament had previously addressed serious issues, it had not always yielded visible outcomes. The Minority Party has called for a parliamentary probe into the cocaine busts, citing serious national security concerns.

However, Osae-Kwapong expressed little confidence that the current political atmosphere would allow MPs to set aside their party positions to thoroughly investigate the case and ensure appropriate action is taken. He suggested that past experiences have shown that institutions like Parliament can take a deep look into matters without producing significant results, leading to a natural expectation that any new parliamentary inquiry may also yield little.