{
  "id": 9978939,
  "title": "Cocaine seizure: Focus on Ghana’s reputation, not partisan blame – Osae-Kwapong",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/cocaine-seizure-focus-on-ghanas-reputation-not-partisan-blame-osae",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-26T12:42:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/cocaine-seizure-focus-on-ghanas-reputation-not-partisan-blame-osae-kwapong/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "A fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Dr John Osae Kwapong, has urged the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to stop blaming successive governments for the recent cocaine seizure linked to Ghana.",
  "key_points": [
    "Dr. Osae-Kwapong urges Ghana not to blame governments for cocaine seizure.",
    "Focus should be on improving international reputation, not partisan politics.",
    "Recent seizure highlights weaknesses in export controls and national security."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "3News",
        "title": "Explainer: Is Ghana now officially the 'Cocaine Coast'?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/explainer-is-ghana-now-officially-the-cocaine-coast",
        "published": "2026-09-26T12:14:42.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "Politicisation could undermine parliamentary probe into cocaine seizures – Dr Osae-Kwapong",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/politicisation-could-undermine-parliamentary-probe-into-cocaine",
        "published": "2026-09-26T14:26:42.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}